A Personal Inferno
by lexbria
Summary: I consider, as I always do, getting into an “accident” and ending it all; the pain, the heartache, the loneliness. But something keeps me holding on and I make it there safe, at least for one more night. Shawn Michaels/OC
1. Chapter 1

I am completely alone now.

I knew it was a bad idea to kick Hunter. I knew he would get mad. No matter how many times he said "It doesn't matter what happens," I should have known better. Now, he won't have anything to do with me. The only person I had in this world hates me. Way to go, Shawn. Way to go.

No one has ever cared. No one. If I died right now, they'd just haul my body to some dump and leave it there. I should end it. I have nothing to live for. My friends use me; my family never had anything to do with me. Rebecca left and took both the kids. Neither one wanted to live with dad anyway. I haven't even talked to them since they left. Every time I called they were always "too busy" to talk.

I can't even count how many days I've sat in my truck, looking out the window at a liquor store, wondering if I should just find the next bridge and drive off it. Sometimes, most times, that seems like the only solution.

I stand up and get ready to drive back to the hotel. I grab my duffel bag and head out to the parking lot. On my way I pass Skylar, one of the newest Divas. She and her twin sister Andrea (who's been wrestling here longer), had a tag match with the Bella Twins, that, I'm guessing, just got finished. She's heading back to the girls locker room, sweat dripping over her caramel toned skin.

"Hey Shawn," she said, smiling up at me. She'd surprised me every since she got here. Andy hated me, with a deadly passion, like most of the Divas here, due to my bad reputation involving me, Hunter, and the countless amounts of girls we'd screwed over. But Skye had always been nice, saying hi to me and Hunter every time she passed us, even stopping sometimes to have a quick conversation. She always smiled too, even when some of the other girls, notably Kelly Kelly, were being bitchy.

"Just so you know, I think you were right in what you did out there," she said, still smiling up at me. "Hunter told you no matter what, y'all would still be friends. And on top of that, it was for the Championship. You'd be stupid to pass up that opportunity."

"Uh, thanks, Skye," I said scratching my head.

"So, you're heading out?" she asked, scooping her dark hair off her neck.

"Yeah, back to the hotel."

"Cool. You should rest up. Y'all fought hard tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around me in a huge bear hug.

"Sorry," she said, pulling back. "Didn't mean to get you all sweaty again. Night Shawn."

I watched her walk away. I don't know what to make of her niceness. My guess is that she's playing some kind of sick joke. There's no way she really believes that.

As she disappears behind a door, I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I turn back around and see The Undertaker, or Uncle Mark as Andy and Skye called him (not sure how that works out), and he's giving me a glare that would send shivers to the sun itself.

"Look Mark, I wasn't-"

"Stay away from her," he said. "I mean it, Michaels."

"She's eight years younger than me, Mark."

"And that's stopped you before?" he snorted. "Don't let me catch you around her. The last thing she needs is a friend like you."

With that he turned and walked off. I honestly wasn't scared. I'd been beaten up by Mark before, and I don't just mean in the ring. Yeah it hurt, but when you thrive on pain, it's a welcome confrontation.

I climb into my car and set off toward the Marriot. I consider, as I always do, getting into an "accident" and ending it all; the pain, the heartache, the loneliness. But something keeps me holding on and I make it there safe, at least for one more night.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to the bright morning light glaring in my face. After I stared around for a few minutes, adjusting my eyes to my surroundings, I realized I was still in my truck. I saw the bottle of Jack Daniels from last night lying broken on the floor. It had spilled onto the floor, changing it a deep black stain. The car reeked of it, the smell permeating my nostrils and giving me a headache. I wiped my face with my hands and made to get out of the truck. I grabbed my bag from the bed of the truck and made my way into the hotel lobby.

"Can I help you sir?" the desk clerk asked from across the room, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Oh, no thank you ma'am. I just had a little accident. I have a room; I just need to get cleaned up."

"Oh. Okay then," she said, still unsure. I crossed the lobby to the elevator, ignoring the looks from some of my coworkers.

When I finally got to my room I threw my stuff down and went to the bathroom. I stared in the mirror and saw what had caught everyone's attention. Blood stained my green DX t-shirt. I felt a familiar sting in my left arm, a reminder of the events from the night before.

There was nothing I could do now. I'd spend the rest of the day in a void, until I got to RAW that night. Then I'd be a mess of knots and confusion, so bad that I'd end up puking before the end of the night. I sighed into the mirror, blowing my blonde locks out of my face. I turned to the shower and stripped down, getting ready to start my long day.

_Later That Night..._

"Shawn, I think we need to talk about last night," Hunter said, finally acknowledging my presence in the locker room.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said in my monotone. "You were right and I was wrong. I shouldn't have kicked you."

"No, it was for the Championship," he said, sitting next to me as I laced up my boots. "And plus, I made such a big deal about it not mattering who won, so I shouldn't have gotten mad."

"Okay," I said, standing up to put on my wrist tape.

"So, you forgive me?" he asked, coming to stand next to me.

"Yeah," I said, wrapping the tape around my arms.

"Damn Shawn! What happened to you?" Hunter said, grabbing my arms. He examined the red scratches made along my wrists, crisscrossing over my pale skin.

"Nothing," I said, yanking my arms from his grip.

"Did you do that?" he asked, staring at me wide eyed.

"Just let it go, Hunter. I don't want to talk about it. You know, sometimes I think you forget that I'm older than you, and I taught you everything you know. Just leave me the hell alone. I'm a grown man and I know damn well what I'm doing, okay?"

He stared at me for a second before finally nodding. "Okay Shawn."

We still had a while before we had to go out, so we decided to watch the show on the monitor. Punk was sitting around, bitching about drugs, or alcohol, or pie or something. It cut to commercial break as he finally put down the mic. A Monk commercial came on, followed by Call of Duty, and then Elf. Will Ferrell was running around, being crazy when from behind us came a shrill, unexpected scream.

"SANTAAAAA!" Skye yelled, jumping up and down behind us.

"My God kid! Have you lost your fucking mind?" Hunter asked, throwing a pillow at her.

"But I know him," she said, continuing her impression. She hopped over the edge of the couch and settled herself in between us, pushing us over and throwing her arms around our shoulders.

"So, I take it you to have made up?" she asked in her slight southern drawl.

"Oh yeah," Hunter said. "No way are we breaking up. Not anytime soon."

She turned to look at me. "You okay Shawn?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

"So what y'all doing Thursday?" she asked, opening a bag of Lays potato chips she had hidden in her coat pocket.

"Steph wants me to fly back to Connecticut with her to have dinner with Shane, Vince, and Linda," Hunt said, sighing.

"You gonna go?" she asked, stuffing the yellow chips into her mouth.

"Well yeah. She is my girlfriend since, forever."

She gave him a look and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever man. Your life." She tossed more chips into her mouth, making her cheeks puff out as she attempted to chew them. Her oversized black Nirvana hoodie practically ate her, she was so tiny. Well, maybe tiny isn't the right word for it. She was shorter than most of the Divas, and defiantly lacked the boobs and ass of most of them (minus Michelle McCool), and had a pretty fragile looking frame, but somehow _tiny_ didn't seem to be the word for it.

"So what are you doing Shawn?" she asked, gulping down the last of her chips.

"I don't know. Probably just watching some TV."

"No," she said, still looking at me with her big brown eyes. "You gotta be with someone on Thanksgiving. You should come with me, Matt, Jeffro and Andy. We're gonna be cooking."

"Aw, that's okay Skye. Thanks for the offer though."

A disappointed look came over her face that made me regret my decision. But I knew I'd regret going even more. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later. I gotta get ready for my match."

"Okay then," Hunter said. "See ya Buzz."

"Bye Mars. Bye Sparky," she said shutting the door. I looked over at Hunter after she left.

"Buzz? Sparky?"

"She nicknames pretty much everyone, but only if she likes you. We eventually had to give her a nickname, cause Andy buzz cut her hair when they were little."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Hunter said, taking a swig of his Coke. "She looked like a little boy. That's why I call her Buzz. But I guess it's no surprise she gave you a nickname, Sparky."

I was about to say something when we heard the door open.

"HEY HUNTER!" Skye yelled from the door. "IS THIS YO SHIT?" she threw the pillow from earlier at such a force that it knocked the drink out of Hunter's hand and spilled it all over the floor and his duffel bag. We heard her maniacal laugh as she left, slamming the door behind her.

"Damn I hate her," Hunter said as he dumped his stuff out of his bag.


	3. Chapter 3

How did I manage to get myself into this situation?

Hunter had dragged me to some party near Philly on Wednesday in a barn near a corn field. Loud techno music was playing and everyone was running around with glow sticks and Jeff Hardy hair. We were searching for someone we knew when we spotted a few of the girls sitting at a table.

"Hey Mickie, Maryse... Candice," Hunter said smoothly as we slid in next to them.

"Hey Hunter," Maryse and Candice said, grinning at us. Mickie rolled her eyes.

"So, how are you lovely ladies doing this evening," he said, still smiling cockily at them.

"Um, were great Hunt," Maryse said giggling. "And how are you doing, you hunk of a man?"

That sent her and Mickie cackling into laughter while Hunter and I rolled our eyes.

"So Candy," he said, turning to her. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She's getting us drinks," Candice said, pointing to a bunch of water coolers. "See? Here she comes."

Andy sauntered back over to us holding four beers. Even though she and Skylar were identical twins, there were so many differences between them, which is crazy because if they both wore the same clothes there is no way I could tell them apart. Andy wore a black, strapless, short black dress that hugged her every curve and showed off her smooth toned legs. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders and fluttered a little as she strutted in her heels.

She placed the beers on the table and slid in next to Candice, turning to her and kissing her passionately. I can't lie and say it didn't turn me on, and from the looks of things, it was having an effect on Hunter as well.

"What do you two want?" she asked, glaring death at us.

Boner killer.

"Chill Andy. We don't want anything from you," I said returning her glare. Andy was just as evil as she was gorgeous. She could be your best friend or your worst enemy, and after we'd hooked back when Rebecca and I first broke up, she'd been my worst enemy. I'm not sure if it's because the sex was really bad, because I called her the next day and everything, but after she saw Rebecca, not met, not talked to, but _saw _Rebecca, she'd hated me. I don't know. Andy has mental issues.

"Look Shawn, I was talking to Hunter. I had absolutely no intentions of even acknowledging your presence, so you can go drown you depression in cheap liquor now," she said with an evil smirk. "Bye Shawn."

I got up from the table still glaring. As much as I hated her, she had a pretty good idea. I got a beer from a cooler and popped the top. I started swigging and heard Hunter come up behind me.

"Let it go man, you know how Andy is. She hates everyone."

"Yeah," I said taking another drink.

"Don't do this to yourself Shawn," he said, trying to coax the bottle from my hand.

"It's one beer Hunt," I said walking off.

"Yeah, but knowing you it'll turn into five or six and you'll end up hurting yourself again-"

"Do you not remember the talk we had yesterday?" I asked, still walking straight. "I've got everything under control."

"Well, it's kinda hard to see that when you won't talk to anyone."

I stopped and turned to him. "Look, I don't need you to be my savior, okay? I can handle _myself_," I growled, starting to get angry. Sometimes, Hunter just didn't know when to let things go. He was my best friend, other than Steve, but I didn't need him looking after me like I was a child or feeling sorry for me.

"Hey, should I get dreadlocks?" came a familiar voice from below us. We looked down at a table and saw Skye sitting next to Jeff and Phil. Phil had a Pepsi, as usual, Skye was drinking a Miller Light, and Jeff was swirling his tongue around the rim of what looked like the remains of a margarita. She had on the black hoodie from Monday night and a pair of shorts just poking out underneath it.

"No Buzz," Hunter said rolling his eyes. He turned back to continue his argument with me, but was interrupted before he could start.

"Is it because I'm black?" she said angrily.

"Yes Skye, because black people never get dreadlocks."

She stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "Are you trying to be sarcastic with me?"

We all laughed and shook our heads. She motioned for us to sit down, so we joined them at the table.

"You guys having fun?" she asked, nodding towards the party.

"Not really my scene," Hunter said leaning back in the chair. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I love this scene. Just not today," she said taking a drink from her beer. "I mean, I'm just not hyped right now."

"Then why did you come?" Hunt asked her. "That's not like you."

"I did it for Jeffy...because he's...Jeffy." We looked over at him while he licked the edge of the cocktail glass. He glanced at us and lifted his head, staring wide eyed. Suddenly, he jumped up.

"Pokerface!" he yelled, running to the dance floor. Hunter and I stared in shock.

"Is he drunk?" I asked. Jeff had done some strange stuff before, but this took the cake. He was in the middle of the floor doing the worm one second, the sprinkler the next, and you-can't-see-me right after that.

"Nah," Phil said. "He just thinks he is."

"We gave him a virgin margarita," Skye explained. "We didn't tell him."

"Why would you do that?" Hunt asked.

"Kicks," she said, shrugging. We sat in silence for a while drinking our beers and listening to the music. Phil eventually left us to go "take care" of Jeff who was in the bathroom puking.

"You guys want to go back to the hotel and watch Cops?" Skye asked, looking at me.

"Yeah let's do it," Hunter said, standing up.

"Cool," she said, looking down. She finished off her drink and threw it in a nearby trash can. "Let me go get Phil. He's my designated driver."

"Alright. We'll meet you two in the lobby of the hotel."

We made our way back to Hunter's car, an old 2004 Ford Explorer that had seen its fair share of dirt roads. Someone had written 'WASH ME' into the side of it. Hunter started it up and put it on some Top 40 radio station. A tune, unknown to me, started playing as we drove back to the hotel.

My mind wandered during the ride back. I thought about Rebecca, the love of my life, and our children. As much as I knew it wasn't true, I liked to think that she had bribed the kids into ignoring me, even though I knew they were resentful that I was gone so much of the time. The reason we broke up was almost as insane. She had speculated that I was cheating on her with Candice Michelle, even though anyone in their right mind could tell that Candice was a lesbian. That's not to say that I wasn't tempted, because Candice did like to flirt, but I'd never cheat on my wife. There are some things even I know not to do.

"Shawnie, you getting out the car?" Hunter asked as he shut the door. I quickly opened it and we settled into the lobby, waiting for Skye and Phil to show up.

They did, not much later, dragging Jeff in behind him. When Skye noticed us she dropped his arm, leaving him slouching on Phil's shoulder.

"You take him to his room, I'm not his keeper."

"Neither am I!" Phil protested, dropping his other arm. He fell with a thud, moaning and grabbing his stomach.

"I'm soooo drunk!" he moaned, rolling around on the floor.

"Well, call Matt," Skye said, walking toward us. "He'll come get him."

She turned, frowning slightly. "Jeff is such a baby," she complained under her breath.

"Well, he's your friend," Hunter said, walking toward the elevator.

"He's not my friend," she said before running to catch up with us. "So Shawn, did you change your mind yet?" she asked, looking up at me.

"You mean about tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding furiously.

"Skye, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, your sister and I aren't the best of friends," I said, scratching my head.

"Oh," she said, looking down. She let out a deep sigh. "Andy ruins everything," she muttered under her breath.

"You mind telling me what room you're in?" Hunter said, breaking our conversation.

"534," she said. And with that, we made our way up to watch COPS.


	4. Chapter 4

I knew something wasn't right the moment I woke up. First of all I wasn't in my room. Hunter and I were sharing a room and I would have heard his heaving snore from the other bed. Instead, I heard light, quiet breathing with the occasional sigh coming from below me.

I really didn't want to wake her, so I slowly crept out the bed. I was only wearing my boxers and shirt, which scared the hell out of me. I looked at her and noticed her bare shoulders, peeking out from under the blanket. Millions of thoughts raced through my head at once. I think I might have hyperventilated for a second, because she woke up with a start, staring at me with wide eyes and messy hair that stood on the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling the covers back to reveal a tank top and pair of shorts.

"Yeah it's just...I thought that you...or we..."

"Oh, no Shawn," she said staring at me seriously. "Nothing went down last night. Trust me."

I had no reason _not_ to believe her, but reflex made me look down at my boxers. "Then, why?"

"You want a play by play of last night?" she asked, folding her arms with an amused look on her face.

"It'd be nice."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, reaching up to rub the sleep out of them. "Okay, we were at the party and I was like 'Hey guys, wanna watch Cops?' and Hunt was like, 'Hell yeah!' so we all left the club and came back here and we were watching Cops and there was this guy and he had to do an alcoholic test or something cause he hit a sign or something like that and he failed. Horribly."

She stopped for a breath. "So then some other stuff happened and Hunter was like 'I'm going to bed,' and I was like 'Aren't you gonna take Shawn?' and he's like 'Well, no. He can take care of himself, he's a grown man,' and he said it all sarcastically and mean and I'm like 'You're a jerk,' and he's like 'I know,' so I'm like, 'Stop singing that stupid song,' and he's like 'You like it!' and I'm like 'I use to like it!' and he's like 'Whatever, you just want people to think you don't listen to rap music because you're so deep,' and I'm like 'You're such a pretentious jerk!' and he's like, 'Why don't you SPELL pretentious?' and I'm like 'P-R-E-"

"Skye," I said, cutting her short. "Can we move this on?"

"Uh, yeah right," she said. "Sorry. Sometimes I get too into stuff and I ramble and Andy says it can get really annoying so I try to control it but I can't always, so people are like 'Skylar Anne! Get on with the story!' and I'll be all, 'I'm tryin' mama but you keep interrupting me!' and-"

"SKYE!" I yelled. She looked up from her fidgeting hands, wide eyed once more.

"Right. So, you fell asleep and I thought of how uncomfortable it is to sleep in clothes, so I took your pants off. Then I went to change, but I didn't want to sleep naked because I figured it'd be inappropriate, so I slept in this and I was gonna sleep on the floor, but..." her voice trailed off as she looked down again and bit her lip.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"It's just...nothing," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you."

"Skye, what's wrong?" I asked, joining her on the bed.

"Well..." she sighed. "Promise you won't laugh?" She looked generally worried and bit her lip again. I smiled at her. "Scout's honor."

She rolled her eyes. "Like you were a boy scout. Okay, I have this really scary nightmare where this walking garden gnome, like the one from the travel commercials, chases me around, and I swear I see him all the time in real life. In the closet, in the woods, around catering at the arenas. I think he's stalking me. I wanted Hunter to stay, but he wouldn't. He told me you would, and you were asleep, so, I didn't wake you."

I chuckled a little and her caramel toned skin turned a slight pink. "You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just," a laughed a little more. "Evil garden gnome?"

"It's real," she insisted gravely. "And it wants to kill me."

"Alright Skye. Are you gonna be okay now?"

"Well, yeah," she said. "It's bright and sunny outside. He can't hurt me unless it's dark."

"You sure?" She nodded with a big smile on her face. "Okay then. Bye Skye," I said, pulling my jeans back on. "I'll see you later."

She ran over and wrapped her arms around me. "Bye Sparky," she said softly.

I pulled her in closer. "Bye Skylar."

I walked to the door and opened it. "Oh, and Shawn?" she called.

"Mm-hm?" I asked, turning back around.

"Kick Hunt in the balls for me, 'kay?"

I smiled again. "Okay."

_Later that day..._

I sat on the bed, watching an old episode of The Cosby Show. Rudy's fish had just died and they were having a funeral for it. Keisha Knight Pulliam was adorable as a kid.

A knock at the door snapped me out of my thought. _Now who could _that_ possibly be? _I asked myself. I opened the door to reveal Skylar Anne grinning up at me. She had a plastic bag in her hand with food containers in it.

"Hey Sparky," she said, inviting herself in. This kid.

"Skye, why are you here?" I asked, still standing at the door.

"Because you are," she said, placing the items in her hands on the coffee table. "And I told you before, no one should be alone on Thanksgiving." She picked up the remote and flipped through some channels before stopping on a channel with a little blonde haired cartoon character running around with this...thing. I'd remembered this show. The kids used to watch it all the time.

"Skylar-"

"Look, don't start with me Sparky," she said, pointing at me. "I'm staying here, and we're going to have Thanksgiving dinner together, got it?" She pulled out the food containers and opened them. The aroma of sausage, rice, and shrimp met my nose, mixed with carrots, potatoes, and hot rolls.

"Okay, so, I'm not the best cooker," she said, scooping food onto two plates. "But Joelle taught me how to make one hell of a Jambalaya."

I had to admit, it looked delicious. "Joelle?" I asked, joining her on the couch.

"My mom," she said. "She likes being called by her first name. Apparently it remind her of our 'family roots'," she said, making air quotes.

"Let me guess," I said, taking the plate from her. "Cajun?"

"Close," she said. "Creole. Straight from Haiti."

"Really? Andy never told me that."

"Well, that's because she sucks," she said, taking a bite. "As I'm sure you've figured out, I'm the cool sister."

I laughed. "So, you two were born in Haiti?"

"Uh-huh. We lived on Tortuga until we were thirteen, then our mom married Ted, and we moved to West Palm Beach with him and Teddy Junior."

"Wait, your mom married Ted, as in Ted DiBiase?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah Shawn," she said laughing. "Why do you think Andy is so spoiled?"

"And how is Mark your uncle?"

"Well, he's not our biological uncle," she said, scrunching up her nose in thought. "He and our mom were really good friends back when she wrestled. He always took care of her like a younger sister. Dude, you should know this, you wrestled when our mom wrestled. She retired in '95 after she had our baby sister."

I thought for a minute. I didn't remember a lot from back then, thanks to overused amounts of cocaine and pot. Apparently, Skylar knew this because she looked at me confused for a minute and then widened her eyes in realization.

"Oh right. Well yeah. She married Ted and we moved to Palm Beach. Awesome surfing, too. We should go surfing together!"

"Skye," I said placing my empty plate on the table. "I don't get it."

She sighed. "It's very simple, Shawn. You see, it's like skateboarding, but on water."

"No Skye," I said shaking my head. "Not that. You."

"Oh," she said. She looked at her hands, then back at me. "I...uh...I don't really get me either...so...I can't help you with that. I mean, I know I can be a lot to handle, but I try, I really do!"

"No, it's just..." I struggled for the words. "Why are you so nice to me?"

She looked at me for a minute. "Because you're nice to me. And plus, I've looked up to you since you started wrestling. I'm your biggest fan."

I stared at her for a second. I didn't even know what to say. I mean, sure I'd heard that from countless kids and adults alike, but never from someone...close.

"Look, I don't exactly have the best reputation around here, okay? I don't think it'd be a good idea for us to hang out-"

"Shawn, I don't care what other people think, okay? I think you're cool, and if they don't like us hanging out together, then they can pull their heads out of their asses and get over it. Now, can we just watch TNA?"

"TNA?" I asked. "The enemy?"

"Ch-yeah!" she said, flipping the channels. "The enemy is hella sexy!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for your reviews! I really didn't plan on this to continue after the first chapter, but I guess it writes itself. I'll try to keep the chapters coming at least once a week. **

I sat in the truck and watched Skylar sleep. She, Hunter and I were on our way to Dallas for the next episode of RAW. He was driving the Ford, I was sitting next to the window, and Skye was sleeping on my chest quietly. She had been staring out the window at the passing landscape and finally fell asleep after two hours. Two hours of looking out the window and singing to the songs on her iPod. Apparently, it was her favorite pastime.

Skye and I had gotten to know each other even better. Hunter didn't exactly want to get to know her. He was convinced that there was something medically wrong with her and Andy. But the more I got to know about Skye, her quirks, her irrational fears (such as Snuggies), and her many obsessions, the more I liked her. She was so unlike the other Divas, who focused themselves on clothes, makeup, and sex. Skye just wanted to be happy and with people she liked.

"This isn't a good idea," Hunter said from the wheel.

"What?" I asked, turning my head carefully so I wouldn't wake Skye. That was the last thing we needed on an eight hour car ride.

"Having her around," he said, pointing. "She's insane."

I looked down at her. She was breathing softly, still sleeping while the little black headphones pumped music in her ears.

"Yeah Hunt," I said smirking. "Evil."

"No really," he said. "She's the weirdest person I've ever met. Okay, maybe Jeff is the weirdest, but she's up there."

"Uh-huh," I said, still smiling.

"Okay, you want examples?" he said, frowning at the road.

"It'd be nice."

"Well, one time we were at a pet store she begged Randy and I to take her too, and the dogs loved her."

"Yep. That's Satan's child," I said.

"Will you just listen?" he said angrily. "Anyways, the puppies kept sniffing her pockets, and Randy asked her why. She said it was probably because of the bacon in there."

"Bacon?"

"Yeah. When we asked why she had bacon in her pocket, she told us she was saving it for later." I laughed. That sounded like something Skylar would do.

"Okay, so she's a little different, but that doesn't mean she's evil."

"Just wait," Hunter said. "She's going to drive you crazy, one way or another."

"YEEAAAAAH! THIS SEX IS ON FIIIIIIIIIRE!" Skye yelled, not moving from my chest. She continued to hum for another forty five seconds then sat up and took her headphones out, looking straight ahead.

"Song over?"Hunter asked sarcastically.

"Nope," she said stretching. "Batteries been dead for twenty minutes." Hunter gave me a knowing look. "Where are we?"

"We're going through Texarkana," I said. She stared at me.

"Explain," she said, giving me a slight frown.

"We're in Texarkana," I said again. "That's the best explanation I've got."

"So, we're in Texas and Arkansas?"

"No, Texarkana is a city," I said.

"Right," she said. "You know what Sparky, I may be stupid, but there's one thing I'm not, and that's stupid. Now where are we?"

I pulled out the map and showed her. "There you go," I said. "Texarkana."

"Cool!" she said. "Hey guys, guess what?"

"We don't care," Hunter said.

"I just had the weirdest dream!" she said, ignoring him. Instantly, she launched into one of her long, fast paced stories. "Okay, so you guys, me, Randy, Evan, Dave and Rey were all hanging around at a park. I was swinging on the swings and Shawn, you were pushing me. Then I got bored and drug you to the sand box to play with me and Hunter and Evan and Rey and we were building this huge tower and it was so big we could walk in it!"

She kept going on and on while Hunter and I ignored her. We both knew that as long as we _pretended_ to listen, she'd be happy. She went on and on while some strange song played on the radio. It was talking about fireflies and insomnia. I really didn't understand today's pop culture or pop music in general, but this song had a nice beat and the synth sounded really nice.

"...and that's when it hit me! Pedophiles."

"What?" Hunter and I said at the same time, turning to face her.

"Yeah!" she said. "Dave and Hunter are pedophiles! And that's why we had to get Evan and Rey out of there. Because Hunter wants to rape them. Mainly Evan."

"I do not want to rape Evan, Skye," Hunter said, shaking his head.

"Sure you do," she said seriously. "And Dave is sexually frustrated about Rey. That's the REAL reason he's mad at him. Because he won't suck his balls anymore."

"Skylar Anne DiBiase. Dave does not want Rey and I sure as hell don't want Evan," Hunter said parking the truck at the arena. Other superstars were walking to the front as we climbed out of the car.

"Don't fight it Hunt," she said, folding her arms across her chest. We started walking.

"There's nothing to fight! I'm not gay and I don't want him!"

"YOU WANT EVAN'S TIGHT ASS AND DON'T YOU DENY IT!" she yelled, stamping her feet on the ground. Everyone within a twenty foot radius of us turned and stared. I saw Evan up ahead, running quickly to the doors.

"No, it's okay kid, we're not gonna-" I stopped when he slammed the door behind him.

"Skye, please," Hunter begged.

"No, not until you admit that you want him and you're just afraid of his brother Jason!"

"Skye I- wait, what?"

"His brother, Jason," she said, giving him an innocent stare.

"Jason... as in Jason Bourne?" I asked. She nodded. "Skye, Jason Bourne isn't a real person and he's not Evan's brother."

"Yeah he is," she said. "They have the same last name."

"No Skye," I said softly. "Evan's last name isn't really Bourne. And Jason isn't a real person."

"He's not?" she asked. "But, he added me on Facebook! And I agreed to meet him in Colorado...I thought he was real."

"That's okay Skye," I said throwing an arm around her, guiding her through the doors. "We're gonna get you some medication."


	6. Chapter 6

"Skylar, hurry up!" Hunter yelled, kicking the bathroom door.

"Shut up!" she yelled from inside.

"Hunt, leave her alone," I said, flipping through the TV channels.

"She's taking forever!" he said, tugging on his DX skull cap.

"It's only five thirty. We have an hour before we have to be at the arena."

"But still, she won't hurry!" he complained.

"Quit your whining," I said, rolling my eyes. Hunter glared at me.

"You like her," he said accusingly, pointing his finger at me.

"She wouldn't be hanging around with us if I didn't."

"No, you want her," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hunter, please. I'm thirty-two and she's like, twenty."

"That never stopped you before."

"Why does everyone keep saying that," I mumbled to myself. "Look, even if I did like her, it wouldn't matter. I'm divorced with two kids and outrageous child support payments. Plus, she's in her twenties. She doesn't want to be settled down. She wants to go to Senor Frogs and dance on the bar with her shirt off."

Hunter smirked. "So, you've put thought into this?"

"Shut up," I said, sitting up on the bed.

"But seriously dude, do you?" he asked, sitting next to me. "Cause you know you can tell me anything."

Yeah right.

"She's cute," I said, pulling on my hat. "But a lot of girls are cute. I don't know if I like her, but she's... sweet, you know?"

"No," Hunter said, shaking his head. "But Skye's not the take-her-top-off in public kind of girl. And I know she likes you."

"What?"

"Aw crap!" Skye yelled from the bathroom. "Guys, are my underwear out there?"

We looked around. "No," we said simultaneously.

"Damn. I lost my favorite underwear. Again." She was silent for awhile longer, apparently getting ready.

"So, what did you mean," I asked turning back to Hunter. He opened his mouth when we heard someone clearing their throat from the door.

"I hope you two aren't talking about my sweet baby sister," Andy said, leaning against the door frame. She wore a black distressed leather dress with gold studs crisscrossing over the front. A pair of knee high black boots came up her amazing legs, and a single red rose perched itself in her hair. The scent of apples faintly failed the room as she checked her blood red nails.

"Andaaay," Hunter said, standing. She turned and glared death at him, causing him to sit back down.

"Because," she said, continuing to stare angrily at us. "I don't take kindly to people looking at my sister like some kind of cheap sex toy."

"Andy, we weren't," I said. "Hunter just thinks I like her."

"Because you do," he mumbled. I elbowed him in the side.

Andy shifted her eyes from me to Hunter, sending chills down both our spines. "Well, you better not," she said finally, her eyes just as cool as they were when she walked in. "Because I don't think Bret would be too happy about that."

"Andy, quit being such a bitch," Skye said, stumbling out of the bathroom. She wore a strapless black dress that fell across her small frame. The bottom of the dress was slightly lacy and see-through, but long enough to cover anything private. On her neck was a long gold chain with a golden circled locket the fell right on her chest.

"Skylar Anne DiBiase," Andy said, frowning at her. "I'm your big sister, and I'm not going to let these two assholes hurt you."

"You're the same age," Hunter mumbled.

"Shut up!" they both yelled, turning to us.

"I can take care of myself Ands," she said. "I'm a big girl now."

"I just want to look out for you, kid," she said, wrapping her arm around her.

"I know. But Shawn won't let anything bad happen to me," she said, smiling over at me. I smiled back.

Andy glared at me. "Just be careful," she said.

Skye closed the door and sat on my lap. "I know you'll take care of me," she said hugging me tightly. "You're the greatest." I smelled her distinct smell and smiled.

"Skye, who is Bret?" I asked into her hair.

"Our step brother," she said quickly, pulling away from me. "Ya know, the one who came to Summer Slam? Now let's go before we're late." She stood and rushed out of the room, leaving me and Hunter confused behind her.

**A/N: Okay, so the next few chapters are going to focus on the Slammys. Also, I'll be gone for awhile with Christmas and all, but I'll try to keep updating.**


	7. Chapter 7

Throughout the entire drive to the arena, Skye stared out the window, amazed at the beautiful countryside. Hunter sat in the passenger seat, an angered look on his face as Skye's little knees stuck in his thighs while she leaned over him to get a better look.

"Skye, you really should have your seat belt on," I said, trying to save him any more agony.

"Sorry," she said, sitting back and fastening it. "I've never been to Texas. It's really pretty here."

"Are you serious?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah," she said, turning to him. "Last time Daddy and Bubba, um Ted and Teddy," she said, noting our confused looks, "came down I was stuck in Calgary with Joelle and Andrea," she said sarcastically. I noticed Hunter elbow her and give her a knowing look from the corner of my eye.

"What were you doing in Calgary?" I asked.

"Just visiting old friends and watching the hockey finals," she said. "Friggin' love hockey." I nodded, content with her answer and she went back to staring out the window, her brown eyes wide with wonder. Her black hair cascaded over her slender shoulders as the glowing orange sunlight poured over her light brown skin, giving her a soft glow. She was beautiful. Every little thing about her, from the way she scrunched her nose when she thought too hard to the way her face lit up when she was really excited, all wrapped up in her clumsiness and knack for getting into trouble with guys who had... _my_ reputation, such as Randy Orton or Adam. It just made me want to hold her, to take care of her. Forever.

_Snap out of it!_ I yelled at myself. _There's no way in hell anything will ever come out of this. You'll fuck this up just like everything else. She'll end up just like Rebecca._

The last thought was unexpected. It hit hard and I felt the pain course through my body. The reminiscences of Rebecca, the love of my life, the kids, and ex-friends all came to me in a rush that made my head hurt. I instantly felt the need to hurt myself, as I usually did in these situations, and as if she sensed it, Skylar put a hand on my thigh. She turned to look back out the front window, her radiant smile peering out through her shaggy bangs, but not before mumbling to me, barely above a whisper, "I'll take care of you, too."

We pulled up to the arena and got out, heading to the locker room. Skye walked right behind us.

"No no. You go away," Hunter said, motioning with his hands. She tilted her head to the side, looking over at me.

"But I wanna stay with you, Shawn," she said, grabbing my arm. I nodded and pulled her in.

Hunter could go screw himself.

We sat on the couch and listened to Hunter leave, muttering something about catering. Skye still hadn't let me go. She had a vice grip on my arm with her right hand, and was fidgeting with her necklace with her left.

"You alright?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded, then turned to me.

"I'm in love with you."

Caught me completely off guard.

"W-what?" I stammered, looking at her.

"Okay, well maybe I'm not _in_ love, but it's definitely more than a crush. Have you ever felt like that? And I know I'm just some stupid kid whose never ever gonna have a chance with you ever, cause you've been with some really pretty girls before, like Sunny, even though she's a total slut, she was pretty, and Rebecca was gorgeous, and you probably already like a diva much much prettier than me, such as Chibi McCool or Maryse, or even Kelly, though I can't imagine why seeing as she screwed half the production team looking for financial stability for when her incredibly fake breasts start to sag, and then again you did date Sunny, but honestly, let's face it, I'm kinda lacking here and there, but I couldn't not tell you because then it would feel like I'm living a lie, which I just won't do, so I wanted to tell you and I don't want you to not be my friend because of it because Hunter already hates me for putting his socks in the coleslaw last weekend, so he wouldn't-"

I stopped her by planting a kiss on her lips. She didn't kiss back, probably too shocked to even function. When I pulled back and looked at her, she stared at me, wide eyed.

"I can't say that I love you either, but I feel something for you too. More than a crush, but I... I want to take care of you. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense," she said as her eyes lit up. She gave me the sweetest reward in her amazing smile. Her top teeth shined and her eyes sparkled bright. A squeal escaped her lips and she jumped on me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissed me again. She broke off and looked me in the eyes.

"Does this mean I'm your girlfriend?" I nodded and she let out an earth shattering scream. "I'M DATIN' SHAWN MICHAELS!" she said, jumping up and down on the couch.

"Okay, sit down Tom Cruise," Hunter said, returning with two handfuls of donuts. "So, you two are finally going out?"

"Yeah!" Skye said, jumping off the couch. "I gotta go tell Codes and Bubba!" She took off and ran down the hall.

"So, you do know you've just made the biggest mistake of your life?" Hunter asked. I nodded.

"But, it's also the best."

"Okay, well, what are you going to do when people start getting pissed? 'Cause you know how Randy and Adam are _soooo_ close to her," he exaggerated. I didn't' exactly have the greatest past with those two. Neither did Skylar, from what I'd heard, but it didn't matter. I just shook my head and turned to TV back on.

"Woooo!" we heard Skye yelled as she ran back down the hall and passed our door. I smirked and listened to her bang on the door to the girl's locker room.

"Ri-Ri!" she screamed to her best friend.

"Yeah?" we heard Maria say, walking out the door and close it behind her.

"OhmyRandy, guess what?"

"The Viet-Cong is attacking!" she said excitedly.

"The what? Never mind, no. Me and Shawn are going out!"

"Shut the front door! Really? Well, it's about time he realized you liked him, after all the stalking, writing love letters and never sending them, graffiti-ing his name every time we went to an arena with hearts around it on park benches, calling him at three in the morning and hanging up just to hear his-"

"Okay, so it was nice talkin' to ya Ri-Ri. I'll see you later," we heard Skye say. She walked back in the room and plopped down in between us on the couch. I threw an arm around her and grinned.

"So...that was you on the phone?"

"Shut up," she said, kissing me again.


	8. Chapter 8

R-Truth and Jillian finished singing their revised songs. Skylar, Hunter and I were about ready to shoot ourselves in the eardrums.

"Well," Skye said, not turning her face from the monitor. "Jillian's rap was pretty bad, as expected, but R-Truth's song had to have been the cheesiest thing I've ever heard in my life sooo... I'm gonna go roll around on the floor for a little bit, 'kay?"

"Knock yourself out babe," I said, stuffing another handful of popcorn in my mouth. Secretly, I was happy she was finally leaving. She left the door cracked and we heard her woo-hooing as she rolled up and down the halls. When her voice was far enough away, I stood.

"Where you going?" Hunter asked, looking up at me.

"Bathroom," I said simply.

"You gonna pee?"

"Uh... no," I said, frowning.

"Shawn," he said sitting up. "There's seriously no reason to do that anymore."

"Uh-huh," I said, making my way over. He kept yelling at me.

"Dude, you've got Skylar now! I know how much you like her. You don't even have to worry about Rebecca! "

I stopped with my hand on the doorknob. Without moving, I growled, "Don't talk about her. _Ever_."

I slammed the bathroom door behind me and turned on the cold water. I let my arm sit under it for a minute, the icy water cooling my skin before I plunge the waiting razor blade into it. The feeling of warm blood oozing over frozen skin was one of the last good feelings I could remember. As much I like Skye, and I know I like her, I can't get this kind of joy, this ecstasy from being with her.

I slid the razor back across my wrist, making a deeper cut than the last. It had become a game: How much pain could Shawn cause to himself? I played every time I got a chance, which wasn't often. Skye was around a lot, even before today. She wasn't clingy, but she was a leech. She likes being with people, even if there was no interaction. She'll stand at the door while Hunter and I are watching TV until we insist that she sit down. Or until she gives us my favorite line, "So... can I get you guys anything?" That's when we finally just tell her to sit down and watch TV before she hurts herself.

The last line stops running and I wrap my wrist tape back around my arm. I clean everything up and wrap the dirty razor in the rag I keep it in, the safest way to make sure no one finds out about my so called problem. I walk out the door and feel something unite with my chest.

I fell back against the sink as a flurry of punches connected with my chest, stomach, throat, and head. I put up my arm and open my eyes long enough to see the fading Sara tattoo on Mark's neck. I try to push him off me, try to stop the hits and protect myself, but it's all in vain as I start to black out. The last thing I hear is screaming in the background.

XXXXXXX

"He's waking up," I hear someone say. I blink, only to have cold water fill my eyes.

"Ow! What the hell?" I yell, sitting up. My head throbs and I lay back down, shielding my eyes with the crook of my elbow.

"I said he's up!" I hear Skye yell next to me.

"Oh. I thought you said 'Pour more water and shut up.'" Of course. Jeff Hardy.

"Babe?" Skye says, shaking me slightly. "You can open your eyes. Jeff's not gonna throw anymore water."

"Why not?" he whines.

"Because, I'll punch you in your testicles."

I smirk and open my eyes, trying to sit up. Skylar, Hunter, Jeff, and Phil are all looking down at me, concerned looks on their faces. Jeff looked scared, as did Phil. Hunter was mad, and Skye looked like she was about to bawl.

"Don't cry sweetie," I said, stroking her cheek. She grabbed my wrist and held my hand to her face, blinking back tears. "I hate seeing you sad."

"Mark's an asshole," she said, more tears falling from her face.

"Well, it was bound to happen," I said, trying to stand up. It wasn't until then that I realized Skylar was sittingon me. "Skye, could you..."

"Oh, right," she said jumping up. I stood and wobbled a minute, holding onto Hunter for support. Jeff and Phil announced that they were going to get a medic.

"No," I said, standing up straight. "I'm fine."

"Well, then they'll get you some Tylenol," Skye said, waving them out of the room. They nodded and headed towards the med station. I flexed my arms and turned my head, making sure everything still worked. Black dots appeared in front of my face and I tasted blood on the inside of my mouth.

"How long was I out?" I asked, rubbing my throat.

"Since right after Breakout Star of the Year," Hunter answered.

"Damn," I said. I looked over at Skye, who was still silently crying. "Baby, this happens all the time. Mark hates me. It's inevitable."

"But it happened because of me," she said softly. "I don't want you getting hurt because of me. I'm not worth it." I pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Look, I know you're considered the baby of your family, and Mark is extremely over protective of you, but that's not changing anything between us, okay? You're the best thing that's happened to me in a long, long time, so no matter how much your 'uncle' wants to beat on me, it will never take me any further from you, got it?"

"Yeah," came her muffled reply. She pulled her face from my chest and smiled up at me, that amazing, irresistible smile only she can make. I leaned down and kissed her, but she had other plans. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me deeper into the kiss. She carefully bit my bottom lip before pulling away.

"Hurry!" she yelled. "You gotta go get your Slammy!"

"And how can you be so sure he's gonna win?" Hunter asked, a cocky look on his face.

"Uh, he's Shawn Michaels, duh," Skye said crossing her eyes at him. We ginned and made our way backstage. Dennis Miller introduced Hunter and his music played. He walked out, as confident as ever, and started talking. Skye watched him, resting her head on my shoulder as her hand pulled on mine, swinging it back and forth. All of a sudden, she turned and ran back down the hall.

"Babe?" I called after her. She didn't answer, but disappeared behind a curtain. "Skye!" I called again. I was about to go after her, but I heard my music being played. I walked out onto the stage to an immense cheer with a fake smile plastered to my face. I hugged Hunter and took the little gold statue in my hand, facing the podium. I waved to the crowd, and waited as Hunter said a last few words. He hit my chest and walked off, while the crowd cheered HBK.

"You know, I've had the uh... I've had the very good fortune of winning this award for the last two years. Last year I defeated the great Ric Flair at WrestleMania in 2008," the crowd answered me with a loud Woo! "This year, WrestleMania 25 I... I came up a little bit short and I did not break The Undertaker's undefeated streak, but I'm still very proud of what he and I accomplished in Houston that night, so I just want to once again thank y'all very much."

I grabbed the Slammy and started to leave, but then Skylar flashed back through my mind. I remembered that night at the party, she was drinking beer, all the trouble she's gotten herself into over the past few months I've known her, starting fires with toasters, getting Jeff's hand stuck in a toaster, almost falling into a pull , the dark, twisted rumors about Edge and Orton, and where was Mark then? Why wasn't he overprotective _then_?

"Ya know something, Undertaker, I can beat you. I know it, and more importantly, you know it. So here tonight I'm throwing out the challenge. You and me. WrestleMania. One. More. Time." I snatched the Slammy from the podium and walked backstage to find my girlfriend.

"Well, that was pretty damn stupid," her southern drawl came from behind me. I turned to see her hiding behind a black curtain, her blue painted toes the only thing visible.

"What are you doing?"I asked, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Hide and seek," she said, poking her head out. "Don't talk directly to me and walk off if you see Cena coming. Now anyways, I went to talk to Mark."

"Did you now?"I asked, turning towards an equipment cart facing the opposite direction."And how did that workout?"

"Well, first he told me I was grounded, which is totally stupid 'cause I'm 21 years old now, which I told him because he can't ground me, and he's all 'Skylar Anne Marie DiBiase, if you even think for a second, I'm going let you date Shawn Michaels you have truly lost your mind!' and was like 'Mark, I'm an adult! I can handle myself! Plus, Shawn has changed a lot since 1997' and he said 'Don't get smart with me!' and I said 'I'm not! But you can't stop me from dating him,' and he was like 'I'll kill him,' and I was like 'So?' and he said 'You can't date a dead person,' and I was like 'Oh can't I?' and Jeffy was like 'Ew,' and-"

"Skye," I said, trying to get her attention.

"so then you were like 'I can beat you! WrestleMania 26! BRING IT!' and Mark was like, 'If I ever see him with you again, I will murder him and you will not be in the WWE anymore,' and I was like 'You can't do that!' and he said 'I know a guy that can,' and I said 'Who?' and he was like Br-"

"Skye, Cena's right he-"

"was like 'Trust me, I'm close enough to Vince to make it happen, and I was gonna argue, but Cena was all 'You can't beat me in Hide and Seek cause you can't see me!' and I told him 'I'm busy right now, Monkey,' and he said 'You're just scared!' and I told him to go give Vince Head or something, so he said something about me giving more head than Kelly and it was so on then-"

"And you just lost the game!" Cena said, snatching the curtain back. Skye stared at him wide-eyed for a second then frowned. "Aw shit Shawn! Why didn't ya tell me?"

"I don't know babe," I said, scratching my head. She jumped from behind the curtain and pointed at Cena. "Well, you can't eat more mixed nuts than I can, Monkey!"

"Whatever! I can eat way more nuts than you!" Cena yelled at her.

"Yeah, cause you're so used to having nuts in your mouth."

"This coming from the girl that eats Candice out every night."

"That's not me! It's my sister!" Skye yelled back.

"Oh, so you're not a lesbian? Cause you could have fooled me, Butch."

Skye punched Cena in the face and turned back to me. "I'm going back to the hotel now. Be careful, okay?"

"I will," I said, stroking her cheek.

"I'm telling Mark," Cena said.

Skye glared at him. "You're man is out there picking a new guest host. Why don't you get ready to jack him off when he gets back to his office?"

"I'm so telling Mark now!" Cena said, running off. I watched him for a second, then turned back to Skye. She had a worried look on her face as she stared in the direction of the stage. I strained to see what she was looking at, but all I saw was bright lights. Dennis Miller was talking and then a loud scream came from the audience. Skye's face fell into a look of pure terror.

"No," she mouthed. She finally looked up at me.

"Skylar, what's wrong?" I asked, bending down to her level.

"He wouldn't," she asked the air around my face. "No way did Mark get through to them."

"Skye, what's going on?" I asked loudly. She jumped and looked at me.

"Shawn, trust me right now, okay? Nothing is wrong with me. I promise. I am perfectly fine. I have to go back to the hotel and take care of some stuff, but I'm in no danger, got it?"

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked, hurt that she'd keep secrets from me.

"Nothing. Well, nothing yet. If it matters you'll be the first to know, I promise. But I have to make sure of it first. You go get ready for your match, okay?"

I stared her down, a dark look falling to my face. "Okay," I sad.

"Thank you baby," she said, leaning up to kiss me. "I love you. See you at the hotel."

"Bye," I said, watching her leave.

XXXXXXX

When I got back to the hotel I found Skye asleep in my bed. She rested quietly, the moom light from the open window creeping through and pouring in over her soft skin. Her chest rose up and down with her breathing, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Her hair fell messily around her face as she turned her head toward me, opening her eyes.

"Hey," she said, smiling softly.

"Hey," I said, leaning down to kiss her. She frowned when I pulled away.

"What's wrong baby?" I asked, pushing her hair from her face.

"I like Sparkle's haircut."

"What?" I asked, frowning at her.

"His haircut. You guys make fun of it all the time and I'm the one who cut it in the first place."

"Who is Sparkles?"

"Chris. Chris Jericho. I cut his hair."

"Oh," I said smiling. "Okay sweetheart, I'm sorry." I crawled in the bed and she pulled my arm around her. I inhaled the scent of her hair and smiled.

"Skylar."

"Huh?" she asked.

"I love you too."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Writer's block. Meh. This is sort of a fill in chapter until I get my creative juices flowing. In the mean time... ****any suggestions****? **

Skylar was jumping on the bed next to me. She was unusually hyper this morning. She was completely dressed, decked out in a saggy, grey t-shirt, a pair of light blue shorts, and a pimp hat. I rolled over and put my head back on the pillow.

"Honey, did I wake you?" she asked, leaning down to whisper (yell) in my ear.

"Do you only shop at Urban Outfitters?" I asked, shooting her an angry look.

"Yes," she said, a blank stare on her face. I rolled my eyes and sat up. The red numbers from the clock glared back at me.

"Skylar, it's five in the morning!" I yelled.

"Shh!" she said, frowning at me. "Uncle Mark will know I'm in here. And... I kinda told him we'd broke up."

"Fabulous," I said. "Now explain."

She let out a disgruntled sigh. "I told you! He said that if he caught us together he was going to grab you by your nu-"

"Not that, Skylar. Why you woke me up at five in the morning."

"Oh. Well why didn't you just say so? We're going to San Antonio today!" she said happily, jumping back on the bed. Rebecca flashed to my mind. I was legally aloud to see the kids whenever I was in town. Thing is, I don't know if I wanted them to know about Skylar yet. Especially Rebecca. She had always been the jealous type and she probably wouldn't be happy about her kids spending time with a WWE Diva. Skye stopped when she saw I didn't look as excited as she did. "Do... do you not want me to see your house?"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" I said, putting on a fake smile. She smiled back and started jumping again, telling me about how we just HAD to visit the River Walk. The good thing about Skye: she'll believe just about anything. I could tell her it was snowing in Hawai'i and she'd go try to build a snowman.

"I still don't understand why you had to wake me at five," I said, rubbing my hands against my face, finally getting up to go pee. She followed me in the bathroom.

"Well, I didn't _mean_ to," she started. "But when I get really excited, I tend to jump on beds. And that was the only bed in the room. 'Sides, sooner we leave, the sooner we get there?"

"The real reason," I said grinning. She smiled back at me, then got a weird confused look on her face. She stared at me a second longer, then leaned forward and licked me. It wasn't too bad, seeing as she had a small tongue, but all in all, she fucking _licked me_. On my _face_.

"Skylar, what the hell?" I asked, frowning.

"Sorry!" she said putting her hands up. "You just looked so tasty!" I stared at her for a few seconds. She couldn't be serious.

"I will never understand you," I said finally. I kicked her out of the bathroom while I continued to get ready, adding a few new lines to the collection on my arm. When I was ready, I went back into the room, finding Skylar rocking back and forth on the bed, practically a nervous wreck.

"Jeez! It took you long enough!" she scolded, jumping to her feet. "I bet Hunter is even ready!" We packed up and went down the hall, banging on Hunt's door. He came out groggily, glaring death at Skylar.

She continued to bounce up and down excitedly as Hunter and I packed the truck. "I finally get to see your house! I get to see your bedroom, and your living room, and your kitchen, and your bathroom, and your driveway, and your other bathroom-"

"And my roommate," I said, cutting her rant short.

"Who's your roommate?" she asked, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Steve. Well, he's not really my roommate. He just needed a place to stay after him and Debra broke up. Once Rebecca left, he didn't see any need to leave."

"You mean Steve... as in Stone Cold Steve Austin?" Skye asked, standing completely still.

"Yeah," I said, tossing another one of her bags in the back.

"Honey, I've met him," she said quietly. I looked over at her and she had a slight frown on her face as she looked at me worriedly.

"You... you have?" I asked. She nodded.

"I was in the whole angle with him, my mom and my step-dad." I met her with a blank stare. "It... it went in for about 6 months. I used to follow you and the Kliq around the entire time." I still didn't answer. "You really don't remember."

"I remember!" Hunter said, a huge smile covering his face. "We used to get you wasted! And that one time, we got you to strip, and we were all scared when we found out you were only sixteen because Kev and Scott let Eric-"

"Okay, Hunter!" she said sternly. "I think we've heard enough for today."

"No, wait," I said. "They let Eric what?"

"Nothing," she said. "Stupid boy stuff. You know how Kliq is." And with that, we all climbed into the truck and headed toward San Antonio.


	10. Chapter 10

Skylar was sitting next to the door, her head leaning out of the window while she stared at the passing farms and cities. Her iPod was playing loudly in her ears (Hunter and I just couldn't take hearing Ice Cream Paint Job one more time). Her hair kept blowing in her face and she struggled to keep it back until she finally put it up in a ponytail. I grinned and Hunter looked over at me.

"So, I'm guessing you don't remember hitting that, huh?" he asked, taking a drink from his Coke.

"We haven't had sex yet," I lied. Skye and I hooked up pretty much every night. What can I say? I can't get enough of her.

"Maybe not lately," he snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah buddy, rollin' like a big shot!" Skye yelled into the wind. She had the damn song on repeat and it started over. Again.

"Those drugs fucked you more than you know," Hunter said. "Cause ALL of Kliq fucked Little Skylar," he said.

"What? Little Skylar? And who fucked who?"

"Shawn, Shawn, Shawn." He took another sip of his drink. "I fucked her, you fucked her, Eric, Kevin, Scott, and Waltman fucked her. We passed her around like a good issue of Playboy."

I almost stopped the car in the middle of the highway. "No I didn't!" I yelled. "And I know damn well you all didn't!"

"Sure we did," Hunter shrugged. "And you're the one that told us you fucked her. She was only sixteen at the time, too. We almost got in so much trouble, but Skye's the cool twin, after all. She kept things quiet."

"I... I didn't... I couldn't have..." I muttered to myself. "I'd never hurt Skye."

"Well, apparently you didn't. She's the one who offered. At least to you. She didn't fuck me, Pac, Scott or Kevin until we got her drunk. I think someone might have slipped her a roofie, too."

"Hunter," I said through clenched teeth, my hands gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. "Shut the hell up. Please. Or I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Why would you kick my ass?" he asked astonished. "I didn't do anything."

"You just told me you drugged and fucked my girlfriend."

"So? I've drugged and fucked a lot of your girlfriends," he said, still not understanding my anger. "You let me fuck your _wife_ once, or do you not remember that either?"

"No, but this is different. Rebecca could make her own decisions," I said, wording my thoughts carefully. Really, I wanted to tell him that she'd been on my ass for the longest about 'fulfilling her needs' and 'being more attentive'. Apparently Hunter was all of those things, so she went and slept with him, telling him I was cool with it. I had no choice but to go with it. "Skylar can't."

"Skylar is twenty years old Shawn," he said shaking his head. He talked softly. I knew he could feel my pain. "She can make her own decisions."

"No, Skylar is fucking retarded," I said. "She can't. She needs my help."

"You want to take care of her," he said. I nodded. "Then I'm sorry I said anything." I just nodded again.

The rest of the ride was silent, aside from the soft country music playing in the background and Skylar's thrown in rap lyrics.

"I didn't even know she liked rap," I said, cringing as the song restarted for the twelfth time. Hunter laughed.

"You'll never know everything," he said.

We finally pulled into San Antonio. Skylar had fallen asleep, so luckily we didn't have to hear her loud squeal as we drove into the driveway. Hunter and I got out. He went to unload the truck while I left to give Steve a heads up.

"Hey Shawn," Steve said as I walked into the house. He and his wife Debra had gotten divorced years before me, so everyone thought it'd be a good idea for me to have some one-on-one counseling, hence his moving in permanently. That couldn't be further from what happens. Steve sits at the house chugging back Bud Light and watching football. I don't think I'd want it any other way.

"Hey. I know you've heard, but I need to tell you something about her," I said quietly, before Steve could say anything else. "She's sensitive, okay? Don't say anything too personal,"

Steve sighed. "Look, I know about Skye's little quirks and whatnot, okay? I did a story line with her parents back in the day. Me and Joelle are still pretty close and all, and the only thing she talks about is her kids."

"Oh. Okay then," I said, scratching the back of my head. "Well, I just want you to know, Skye's carrying around a spatula now. I'm not sure why, but she never lets it out of her sight." Steve stared at me for a minute, opened his mouth to say something, then grinned and shook his head. "Steve, I couldn't make this up if I tried."

We walked outside, passing Hunter, and to the truck where Skylar was sleeping. I climbed in and shook her shoulder slightly. "Sweetie, we're here." She opened her eyes and looked up at me. She stared for a second before sitting up.

"Where are we?" she asked. Steve shook his head.

"My place," I said climbing out of the truck. She followed, stretched, and looked around. That's when Steve caught her eye.

"Ah!" she yelled, wrapping her arms around him. "Stevie! I missed you so much! I haven't seen you in a bazillion years, and you never told me you lived with Shawn Michaels, and I have so much to tell you, and I gotta- hey wait." She jumped down and turned to me anxiously. "Where's Xander?"

"Under the seat," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. She crawled back into the truck and came back with a shiny new spatula, the one she had forced me to buy two days earlier. She turned back to Steve, a Cheshire grin on her face.

"This is Xander," she said, looking at the spatula lovingly. "He's my spatula."

"I see," Steve said, taking a gulp of his beer. "Why in the hell do you have a spatula?"

"The question is," she said, dragging her hands along the blade. "Why don't you have one?"

"That's the stupidest shit I've ever heard," he said plainly. Luckily for me, he'd already learned how to deal with her.

"Whatever! Apocalypse Man said that stuff like this will help us in the future!" Steve gave me a look and I quickly explained.

"Apocalypse Week on the History Channel."

"Yeah," she said. "Now come on! We're missing Life After People."

_That night..._

RAW was extremely boring. My mind had been reeling the entire time, knowing I had more important matters to attend to. I dropped Skye and Hunter off at the house (Smackdown was in Corpus Christi on Friday, so Mark wasn't here yet) and drove off to see my kids.

I pulled up to Rebecca's house, a huge six bedroom seven bathroom mansion she had bought with her alimony and child support. I parked on the curb and walked up to the door, sliding my hands through my hair before rapping on the door. When I got no answer, I rang the doorbell, pressing the button over and over until Rebecca yanked the door open, glaring at me.

"It's about time. Were you really too busy to come see your kids?" she asked, flipping her blonde hair out of her face as she turned. I followed her into the house as she called the kids down.

"Cameron! Cheyenne! Come down and see your father!" She turned back to me. "I almost had Cheyenne down, but no. You _finally_ decide to show up at eleven o'clock. You do know they have school in the morning, don't you?"

I nodded silently and stood at the door, waiting for them. Cheyenne came first, dragging a pink stuffed dog on a leash behind her.

"Hey daddy," she said, her thumb planted firmly in her mouth.

"Hey sweetheart," I said, wrapping my arms around her. I picked her up and she wrapped her free arm around me in a half hug. "How have you been?"

"Good," she said, slobber spilling around her mouth.

"Why is she still sucking her thumb?" I asked, looking over at Rebecca.

"The same reason she's been having nightmares for the last three months. Her dad is never around."

There was no way I was going to argue with her in front of the kids, Cheyenne especially. She didn't need memories of her parents fighting each other. Not while she's this young. "Have you been having nightmares?"

"Uh-huh," she said. "There's a boogeyman in my closet."

"At least it's not a garden gnome," I said, more to myself than anyone. I saw Rebecca give me a strange look out of the corner of my eye. "Where's your brother?"

"Upstairs," she said. I looked at Rebecca. She rolled her eyes and nodded, and I carried Cheyenne and her stuffed dog upstairs to find her brother. He was sitting in his room, a game controller attached to his hands as he blasted robots or demons or whatever kids battled on the game systems these days. I knocked on the door to get his attention.

"Hey Cam," I said. When he saw who it was he rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

I frowned. "I came to see my son. Do you think you could put the game down and at least say hey?"

"No," he said. "You know damn well I don't like you."

"Don't talk to me like that Cameron," I said sternly. "You're only twelve years old."

"I know," he said. "And you left when I was eight. I'm not as stupid as her, okay?" he said, pointing at his younger sister. "I know you don't care about me, her or mom!"

"Cameron, why would you say that? I work my ass off to get you everything you want. I come see you every chance I get!"

"No you don't!" he said. "Just leave me alone! I don't want you to be my dad!"

"Stop being mean Camwon!" Cheyenne said around her thumb. She was resting her head on my shoulder, frowning at her older brother. Her blonde hair fell in her face and I smiled as I thought about how my little girl had never quite learned how to pronounce her r's right. She yawned and I smiled, turning back to Cameron.

"So that's it? Because you know at twelve you can choose whether or not you want certain people in your life."

"Yeah. I waited three years for that, and I know I sure as hell don't want you," he said, his light face turning red in anger. He'd thrown the game controller down and had his hands clenched into tight fists as he stared me down. I shook my head and closed the door before heading down to Cheyenne's room. Inside it was all purple and pink, covered in posters of Disney Channel stars and stuff. I laid her down on her queen sized Hannah Montana bed and pulled the covers around her.

"Night honey," I said, kissing her forehead. He grabbed my arm and looked at the closet, her whole body trembling. She flashed her eyes toward me and I saw a hint of me, Rebecca, and... Skylar?

"What is it honey?" I asked, kneeling down to get on her level. Her lips shook as she explained the boogeyman hiding out in her closet, waiting for her to go to sleep so he could get her. I frowned.

"Don't worry baby. Daddy won't let that boogeyman get you!" I walked over to the closet and opened it just far enough for me to slip inside. "Hmm, what's this?" I asked loudly, rattling stuff around to make noise. "Huh, no boogeyman here. He must have gotten scared an- OH NO! HE GOT ME!" I yelled. "CHEYENNE HELP!" I heard her scream and hop off her bed. The closet door flew open and she tackled me, both of us falling into a heap on the floor.

"I got you daddy!" she said, eyes snapped shut. She yanked the stuffed snake off me and held it for a minute, her eyes popping open. "Daddy! This is just a snake!"

"Is it?" I asked, sitting up. "Are... are you sure it's not a boogeyman?"

"Yes, I'm positive," she said, grinning at me.

"Then, I guess there's no boogeyman in here."

"Are you positive?" she asked, holding her hands out for me to pick her up.

"Yes, I'm positive," I said, putting her back in the bed. "Will it make you feel better if I left the light on for you?"

"It'd make me feel betta... betto.... good if you stayed with me," she said, struggling to pronounce her words. I stroked her hair as I stared down at her.

"I wish I could stay, but I have to go home baby."

"Why can't I come with you?"

"Because you have school tomorrow," I said. She frowned and her eyes welled up with tears. "But don't worry, as soon as summer comes I'm gonna take you with me, okay?"

"Pwomise?"

"Promise," I said. I kissed her again. "Now go to bed. You got school in the morning, you little monkey."

"Bye daddy. I love you," she said, her eyes closing.

"Bye Cheyenne."

I went back down stairs to find Rebecca and tell her of the plans I'd just made with a six year old. "Becky?" I called, turning into the kitchen.

"Don't call me that. You know how much I hate it."

"Sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "So, yeah, um... I'm gonna take Cheyenne with me this summer, okay?"

"The hell you are," she said, turning back to the dirty dishes in the sink. She started rinsing them. "You aren't taking my daughter anywhere."

"Rebecca, she's the only kid I've got, seeing how you've turned Cameron against me."

"I didn't turn anyone against you!" she yelled. "You decided to go back to wrestling, sleeping around with all those sluts in the WWE, and was never there for him!"

"I went back to the WWE so I could take care you y'all! And I've told you time after time, Candice is a LESBIAN! She has sex with Andy Johnson every night!"

"How do you know?" she asked. "Do you sit in there and watch? Or do you and Hunter film it, just wishing one of you could jump in and join them?"

I stared at her. "No! Where are you getting this from? I'm not even attracted to Candice anymore!"

"I know, because you just screw them and leave them! And that doesn't change how unavali-"

I cut her off when my phone started ringing. Some song called Panic Switch or whatever started playing and I knew it could only be one person. "Hey," I said.

"Shawn! Where are you?" Skylar practically yelled into my ear. "You're missing Gangland!"

"I know, I'm taking care of business right now."

"Babe, we're off now. You shouldn't be doing business. It stresses you out," she scolded. "You should be here learning about how... oh wow! Did you know the Aryan Brotherhood is responsible for 18% of all prison related murders?"

"Nope. I didn't know that."

"Well they are. And they caught like two hundred pedophile on To Catch a Predator! You're missing all the good stuff. Do you think we could get Hunter on there?"

"On Gangland?" I asked.

"No! To Catch a Predator! Because he's a pedophile and all."

"No, we are not turning Hunter in to Chris Hanson. And don't say that in public, okay?"

"Fine," she said.

"Okay, I'm on my way home. I'll talk to you then, alright?"

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too," I said, hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Rebecca asked, sending an icy glare at me.

"That... that was Skylar Johnson," I said, looking down at my hands.

"Are you fucking her?" she asked, a disgusted look on her face. "You really sank that low?"

"Look Becca, you don't know Skye like I do."

"Yeah, because I'm not looking for a relationship at a daycare! I can't believe you're with that slut!"

"She's not retarded!" I retaliated, a reflex these days. "Wait, slut?"

"Yeah. She works for the WWE, right? That just screams sleazy hoe!"

"She's not a hoe Rebecca," I said, my lips set in a grim line. "She's not. She's just young."

"Right," she said, a knowing look on her face. "Yeah, because you and your friends all took turns with her when she was what? Sixteen?"

"I didn't sleep with her," I told myself. Rebecca snorted.

"Whatever. Have fun robbing the cradle. But remember, as long as you're with her," she pointed at my cell phone. "You will never get her," she pointed towards Cheyenne's room. "Now get out of my house."

I drove off to the liquor store. Lucky for me they had a drive through. I pulled into a park and drained the bottle of Jack Daniels, lighting a cigarette in behind it. The nights events reeled though my mind and I hurled the bottle at the floor. I picked a shard up and let it slip up and down my arm, not stopping at one cut. Blood seeped from the open wounds and covered my entire left arm. My breath came out heavily and I opened the other bottle, letting it slip between my lips. I pulled out of the parking space and drove toward home.

I feel the car swerve around me. The road is blurry and under the cover of an alcohol induced fog, I'm grateful that the roads are empty. My driveway, I'm pretty sure it's my driveway, pulls up and I make it in the garage. Slamming the car door, I call out to Skylar. She comes outside, and I hear her gasp, then scream. I can't understand her words. I follow her in the house as she pulls me to the couch by my unharmed arm. She's still yelling as she goes into the bathroom, and that's when I black out.

**A/N: 3000 words. A new personal record. I be very happy. I didn't mean to make Rebecca sound like such a bitch, but what do you think? Keep her attitude, or shimmer her down some?**


	11. Chapter 11

When my eyes finally opened Skylar was staring at me from the other couch. Her arm was resting on her knee, and her head was in her hand, like she was waiting. This was such a natural occurrence as of late that all I could do was look up at her and smile. She was always up before me, dressed and ready for her day (today in a scrunched grey dress that looked more like an oversized tank top on her), and when I woke up, she'd be staring impatiently, ready to ambush me.

"Nice to see you too, honey," I say, flashing her a smile. Her eyes narrowed into one of the creepiest, deadliest looks I'd ever seen on a woman's face. At that moment, I finally noticed the resemblance between her and Andy.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom that I'm guessing ran in the family. She _looked_ like Skylar, but this couldn't be the sweet, happy girl I'd fallen in love with. Nope. This was her evil twin.

"Andy, what the hell do you want?" I asked, walking upstairs to the bathroom. She came up behind me and hit the back of my head. I grabbed it tight, (it was already throbbing), and gave her an angry stare.

"I'm not Andy!" she yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom.

"Thanks Skye, because you know I don't think I would have figured that one out on my own."

"You called me Andy, asshole. Or did the drugs and alcohol make you forget that too?"

I turned away from the sink long enough to slam the door in her face. I turned to finish getting ready, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, and washing my hair. I opened the bathroom door and stood face to face with Steve.

"I need to put on pants," I said, staring up at him. I hate being short.

"You're doing it wrong, Shawn," he said, shaking his head slowly.

"I- what? My closet is over there!" I said, pointing across the room. Steve smacked me in the head and I grabbed it again, the headache returning with a vengeance. "Unnecessary."

"Shawn," he said. "She took care of you all fucking night. When you passed out she was still freaking out, running around the house to get stuff to fix your arm up. She cleaned it off with alcohol, not that you needed anymore, put medicine on it and wrapped it up." I was wondering how the bandage got there. "And then she watched you sleep until four this morning. She fell asleep in the floor under you, woke up at six, made _me_ watch you while she got dressed, then sat and watched you again until you woke up."

"Well she must be so proud," I said. I pushed passed him and went to the closet, pulling my boxers and jeans on.

"You know what she's doing right now?" he asked, pushing the closet door open. "She's down stairs, crying her eyes out, and cooking you breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice."

"I didn't ask her to," I said, looking for a shirt.

"I know dumbass! She's doing it because she loves you!" I stopped and looked over at him, mulling my thoughts around in my head.

"She didn't have to be such a bitch," I said, trying to justify my actions. Steve wasn't having any of that.

"Because you're acting like a fucking moron! Before yesterday Skye never knew that you cut yourself. And drunk driving wasn't exactly smart either." He glared at me and I pulled on a t-shirt and walked downstairs, searching for Skye. She was laying on the couch I'd slept on that night, curled up in the blanket watching reruns of The Biggest Loser.

I walked into the kitchen and saw the food. It looked amazing. Not only had she made eggs, bacon, and toast, but she had a short stack of pancakes sitting next to them, heart cut banana slices layered on top under the thick syrup.

I walked back into the living room and pulled the cover off of her face and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry," I whispered. She sniffed and turned to look at me. Her eyes were red from crying and she was welling up with tears again.

"Stop," I said, sitting next to her. "Stop. Don't cry. I hate seeing you cry." I did. Every time she cried it tore me up inside. I couldn't watch it. It was like torture for me.

"You're food's getting cold," she said, standing and guiding me towards the kitchen. She sat down in the chair next to the head of the table, my seat. I started eating and looked over at her. She was smiling at me.

"What?" I asked. She shook her head and closed her eyes. Then, she burst out in a fit of giggles.

"What's wrong Skye?" I asked, laughing along with her.

"Our first fight," she said, wiping tears from her face. "Not exactly what I'd expected."

"Tell me about it," I said, grinning.

"Well, I didn't expect us to be fighting over the fact that you cut yourself. I expected us to fight over something else, like Mark or Bret, or hell, even Andy! Or something like the remote or where to get married or what to name our kids. But no."

"Where to get... what to name our kids?" I asked. "Planning for the future?"

"Well," she said, pushing her hair out of her face and glancing away from me. "It's not like I've been planning our wedding since I first met you back in ninety-five or anything silly like that," she said with an awkward laugh. She flashed her eyes back to me. "Because that would be weird?"

"Just a little," I said. She glanced at the bandages and back at me, her eyes turning sad again.

"Is it because of Mark?" she asked, looking up at me solemnly. I shook my head.

"I... I guess it's time you know the whole truth," I sighed, taking the last bite of my breakfast. I chewed and thought, finally gathering the whole story.

"Okay, so you already know about how doped up I was in the 90s, right?" I ask. She nodded. "Well, to start things off, rehab was a bitch. And on top of that I kept getting shit about the whole screwjob and shit, but I was used to that by then. I got clean, met Rebecca, had a couple kids, and everything was good, until I decided to return to the WWE. Rebecca started complaining all the time about how horrible of a father and husband I was. And plus, being on the road without your family, its hard. But I tried to get around it. Until I found out she slept with Hunter."

"Shut the front door!" Skye yelled, slamming her hands down on the table. "She didn't!"

I nodded. "She told him I was fine with it, and in the past I would have been. He's an idiot, so I never got mad at him about it, but she came to me with the divorce papers and I lost it. I left home and drove to the park, drank half a bottle of Jack and threw it at a tree. I picked up a piece and grabbed it so hard that I started bleeding. But it felt so _good_, you know? I've been at it ever since. Every time I fuck something up, like I always do, like I almost did with you," I said, grabbing her face. "If I lose you, I don't think I'd make it."

"Baby," she said, a slight frown on her face. "We all have problems. And I know some are more difficult that others, but you can't do this to yourself."

"I know," I said. "I've been trying, but it's tough."

"Well, come talk to me," she said, putting her hand on mine. "I'm gonna be here for you forever. And don't let the little stuff get to you. I mean, look at me. My big brother is doing a movie about tooth fairies, for goodness sake."

I nodded then stopped. What?

"Skylar, Ted's in The Marine 2. Not The Tooth Fairy. That's Dwayne Johnson."

"I know," she said, giving me a strange smile. "My older brother, Rocky." I met her with a bewildered stare. "You didn't know Rocky Johnson was my father?"

"No," I said. "You're The Rock's baby sister?" She nodded. "Soul Man's daughter?" She nodded again. "Do you have any more family I should know about."

"Well," she said, playing with her hands. "Um, well, Stu. He's like, by godfather."

"Stu?" I asked. A panic released itself inside me and I felt my heart race. "Stu Hart?"

"Mmmhmm."

"As in the father of this week's guest host, Bret the Hitman Hart?"

"That would be the one," she said, still not looking at me. "But we don't have to let this get in the way or anything, do we?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You didn't ask sooner!"she said angrily. "But, we can worry about that when the time comes. Right now we should go get ice cream."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up. I was in the home stretch of Misery by Stephen King and I honestly couldn't put it down. I'm gonna try and make the next chapter extra special to make up for it, so tell me what you wanna see. Or read. You get the idea.**

"You know you can't avoid the subject forever," I said. Skylar's immense brown eyes stared up at me from the hotel floor. She and Xander (the spatula) had been playing every since we got to Phoenix. RAW started in two hours, and she still ignored me when I tried to talk about her... extensive... family. "I have to put up with his annoying ass in a couple hours."

"Will you please not say things like that?" she said, frowning at me. "He _is_ my family, Shawn. Part of my closest family. He practically _raised_ me."

"I hate to tell you I don't give a fuck," I said, frowning back. "But I don't. I hate him."

"Shawn please, he's like an older brother to me. And that's how he treats me," she said, looking down.

"Figures." I rolled my eyes. "Who doesn't? Between Mark, Andy, Edge and Orton," she flinched when their names were mentioned. She does that a lot, I've noticed. I sigh. "Look, if he wants to fight with me-"

"No!" she said, jumping to her feet. "You can't hurt him!"

"And why the hell not? He's gonna try and hurt me."

"Shawn, he's had like two strokes!" she said, despair in her eyes. "He can't take that kind of stress. Please, if he says anything to you, please just suck it up and let it go."

I stared at her for a long time. She looked like she was on the verge of tears again, and Lord knows how I hate to see her cry. And this is part of her family, a big part, it seems, but still, this guy pushed me to the edge every time he had a chance. I hated him. After the constant slander and bullshit that went on backstage, I couldn't care less if he was walking on prosthetic limbs with a brain tumor. But I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't do that to Skye.

"Alright," I said, still unhappy. She threw her arms around me and kissed me.

"Thank you so much honey! I already talked to Vince. You two are gonna make up tonight!"

"Make up?" I asked, pulling her away from me. "What do you mean, make up?"

"Like...you're gonna settle your differences and hug it out!" she said, beaming happily. "I love you so much, I could just... ah!" She jumped around and attached Xander's leash, pulling him down the hall. "Come on!" she yelled back. "We gotta meet them at the arena!"

I shook my head as she walked down the hall to the elevator. "Everything's finally coming together," she said, smiling at the spatula. "We're all going to be a family."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Bret!" Skye yelled, practically falling out the car. She ran across the parking lot and into his arms, pulling him tight. I took a deep breath, picked up Xander, and made my way over to them.

Bret glared at me from behind her, his eyes sending daggers into mine. "Were you in the car with him?" he asked.

"Uh... Yup," she said, pulling back from him.

"Why?" he asked, a look of bewilderment on his face. I grinned.

"Honey, I thought you said he knew?" I lied, smirking at him.

"I never said that!" Skye said, he light brown cheeks reddening.

"Sure you did," I coaxed. "Back in our hotel room, right after we-"

"Shawn, stop," she warned, noticing the look of anger on Bret's face.

"What don't I know, Skylar," he said, looking down at her sternly. Her face warped into a half frown. She glanced up at him through her long eyelashes and thick, floppy bangs. She sighed and looked up at the sky, letting the soft glow of the summer sun warm her face. She bought her arms together, grasping them with her opposing hands. I found myself longing to hold her, but knew I couldn't. Not until Bret got his answer.

"Bret, I know you told me he was trash. _Everyone_ tells me he's trash. Hell, I even tell myself he's trash sometimes."

_Thanks babe,_ I thought to myself.

"But... I... love him. I do. I love him so much Bret," she said, looking up at him pleadingly. Bret's face twisted in anger, his eyes darting back and forth from me to her.

"I didn't think it was true," he whispered. Skye started backing up slowly, grasping my arm when she made her way over to me. "I thought Mark was playing some sick joke on me."

"I knew he told you!" Skylar yelled, a full frown playing on her soft features now. "Damnit, I'm an adult, not a child. I can make these kinds of decisions on my own!"

"No, apparently you can't!" Bret yelled back. His weathered face was torn in anger and hurt as he glanced from Skylar, the sweet little girl he'd helped raise to me, the perverted ass-hole who destroyed his relationship with Vince McMahon. In Bret's mind, if I'd never come along, he'd still be Vince's golden boy.

"Bret, I'm not leaving him," she said, one hand rubbing over her stomach. "I'm not. Now, you can either be mad about it, or you can accept it, and," she looked from me to him, "act like adults and get over yourselves. It's been twelve years, now."

Bret and I stared at each other. Everythingshe said was right. We were both too old to be acting like children. I knew that, and Bret knew that. We needed to end this feud, once and for all.

"Skye, honey, I'm sorry," I said shaking his head. "It's not going to happen."

"What?" she said, looking at me incredibly.

"He's right Skye," Bret said, shaking his head and glaring at me. "It's never gonna be over. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

"It doesn't have to be," she said, looking at the ground.

"Yes it does sweetie" I said, cupping her face and lifting it up to mine. I saw Bret glaring out of the side of my eye. "Let her go," he said sternly. I ignored him. "It's always gonna be like this."

"Fine," she said, walking into the arena.

"Skye, don't be upset," Bret said following her. "You knew this before you got together with him."

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head. "I guess I knew you two wouldn't be mature enough to make up, but at least I tried." She shrugged one shoulder. "Just, give me some time, okay? I'll be alright."

We nodded and separated, Bret and I giving each other one last glare. He knew as well as I did that Skylar and I weren't breaking up. Skylar was stubborn, and, though I did love her, any chance to spite Bret Hart is one I'm willing to take. And as much control as her family likes to have over her (as with Mark and Andy), in the end, it was always her decision that came through.

She walked into our locker room and I went to catering to find her some food. I grabbed some grapes, an apple, and a couple of apple juices. Skye is a well known health nut. I don't think I've ever seen her eat sweets, unless it was a holiday like Christmas or Valentine's Day. She liked to exercise, too. Probably the source of all of her extra stamina.

I made my way back to our locker room. She was sitting on the couch, staring intently at the television. Animal Planet. I sat next to her and she smiled over at me.

"Trouts!" she said, grinning widely.

"Mmmhmm," I said, smiling down at her. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Only if I can ask you one," she said, turning her attention back to the fish on the TV. She smiled when they jumped out of the water to swim upstream.

"Of course," I said.

"Then shoot."

"Why do you get all weird when I mention Orton and Copeland?"

She went dead silent. She focused on the TV like never before, straining her eyes to see it. I waited for a response but she ignored me. "Skylar."

"Huh?" she asked, turning back to me.

"Answer the question."

"What question?"

"Stop playing games Skye," I warned, a stern look falling over my face. I swear it's like working with a child.

"Because, they're weird people," she said, shrugging. I knew she was lying. Skye can fool some people, but everyone who knows her knows she bites her lip when she lies, and right now it looked like she was about to draw blood.

"Why won't you tell me the truth?" I asked, rubbingmy face. "All I wanted was a simple answer."

"Well you know what Shawn? Sometimes the answer isn't that simple," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffed and turned away from me. As much as I hated to see her cry, she hated for people to watch her cry.

"Sweetie," I said, pulling her closer. I held her why she let it out, my insides burning and making me feel like shit. _I've got to quit fucking up with her like this or I'm going to lose her_, I yelled to myself. She sniffed a few more times and shook it off. The kid's got great resiliency. She shifted in her seat and looked up at me, droplets of water still dotting her eyes. "Can I still ask you my question?"

"Of course honey," I said, pushing her hair back. She sat up straight and looked at me, seriousness in her dark brown eyes.

"Will you stop cutting yourself?"

I stared at her, knowing what she wanted to hear. What she _needed_ to hear. What she needed from me. I nodded.

Her arms wrapped around my waist as she buried her head into my chest, snuggling closer and breathing into me. I felt her talking into my shirt, he words unintelligible as she cried out proclamations of joy. I could do this.

I _would_ do this.

For her.


	13. Chapter 13

As I laid back on the bed, watching Skylar jump up and down to gain my attention, the situation felt all too familiar.

"Shawnie!" she yelled, the springs grunting as her weight shifted them up and down. "You gotta get up. Es muy importante!" She jumped off the bed, landing next to Hunter, who was forced to sleep on the floor. The hotel room only had one bed, but it was big enough for all three of us. Skylar insisted that he sleep in the bed next to her because a) she needed someone to protect her from the evil garden gnome (no seriously, he's still "after her"), and b) it just wasn't right to make your friend sleep on the floor. Unfortunately for him, he learned the hard way (as did I) that Skylar wasn't the best when it came to "sleeping straight." When he finally gave in, her legs where sprawled across his face and stomach while she dozed peacefully on my chest.

She opened the curtains and lifted the blinds, letting the bright Tallahassee sunlight in. I covered my face with a pillow and Hunter groaned from under us. At least it isn't five in the morning.

"Come on! You gotta get up, we gotta go!"

"Where are we going, Skylar?" I asked, agitation lining my words.

"Palm Beach!" she said excitedly. "Me, Andy, and Teddy's place? Where we grew up? Where you'll get to meet my parents!"

"He's met your parents Skye," Hunter said, standing with his eyes closed. He attempted to walk across the room but ran into a wall halfway to the bathroom.

"Yeah, but he doesn't remember," she whispered. I'm not sure if she knew I could hear her. I doubt it.

"Shawn, this is a very special day," she sang into my ear. I pulled the pillow down low enough for me to glare at her, but her overly excited expression bought a smile to my lips. It was just like the time I showed her double sided tape.

"Okay, I'm up," I said, grunting and rolling out of bed. I went into the bathroom, showered and got dressed. Cool air met me as I stepped back into the main room. Skylar had the window open and a light breeze was flying through her hair as she _leaned out the window_.

"SKYE!" I yelled, running over and pulling her in. She whipped around and stared at me with wide eyes.

"What is it?" she asked, panic intertwined in her words. "Is something wrong with the children?"

"You could have killed yourse-" I stopped and gave her a strange look. "What children?"

"Evan and Rey, Shawn!" she said, her eyes getting wider. "Oh no! Don't tell me you've forgotten about the children!"

"Why are you hanging out the window?"

"I was making sure Hunter put everything in the truck right," she said, turning back around.

"But I haven't even repacked my bags!"

"I packed them for you," she said, all the while making wild hand gestures at Hunter. "And I got rid of your razor blades."

_That's fine. I'll just get more. No no, can't do that anymore. Promised Skylar. Can't loose Skylar._

"Okay, I guess that's fair. But what am I supposed to do with the clothes I wore last night?"

She reached around and took them from me, leading me out the door. "Gosh, you're so needy," she said, a teasing grin on her face. "Come on, we've got to hurry! My mommy's cooking and I'm making dessert."

_Oh joy._

The truck was all packed and ready to go when we got downstairs. Hunter was in the driver's seat messing around with the GPS on his Blackberry, which really didn't matter. We were gonna get lost anyways. Skye slipped in the middle and I sat in the passenger seat next to her and we were on our way.

Hunter had been smart and purchased his own iPod so he didn't have to tune into Skye Radio, but I hadn't been. I guess I'll get around to it, if I can ever figure one of the damn things out.

"Aren't you gonna listen to your iPod?" I asked Skye who was flipping through radio stations. She shook her head.

"Uh uh. We need to talk."

Damn. The four most dreaded words in the English language. My mind reeled at what could be wrong as she found her favorite station.

"Hell yeah! I love this song!" she said. She bobbed her head and blasted out the lyrics, full volume (_I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover..._) , while I waited to know what we had to talk about.

"So?" I asked when the song ended and she settled down.

"So what?" she asked. A smile came to her face. "SO WHAT? I'M STILL A ROCKSTAR!"

"No, Skylar, what do we need to talk about?" I asked before her ADHD set back in.

"Umm... anything. I just like talking to you. I like to hear your voice."

I smiled. "Okay, well, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, you never told me how your visit with the children went."

"Evan and Rey?"

"No, silly. _Your_ kids. Chey and Cam."

"Oh." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, Cheyenne doesn't hate me."

"That's good," she said, her face twisting in confusion. "And... Cameron?"

"He's on his mom's side. He's still mad at me about the divorce and coming back to the WWE."

"Oh," she said. "But things are good in Chey world. How is she?"

"She's good. Starting to get monsters under her bed, but we'll work that out."

"Her too?" Skye asked, her eyes wide again. "Damn. Poor kid. At least she doesn't have an evil gnome after her." We laughed. "So, when do I get to meet her?"

"As soon as we get back to Texas," I said, a smile playing on my lips. I sure did miss my little girl, and now that it was officially summer, I could bring her with me on our trips. There was no doubt in my mind that she would like Skye. I'd seen Skye with other superstars' kids, such as her Uncle Mark and Chris Jericho, as he liked to be called. They loved her, probably because she could relate to them, which I'm still trying to figure out is a good or bad thing.

"I want to meet her. She's really pretty in all the pictures you showed me." She stopped at took a deep breath. "So, why did you hurt yourself that night?"

"Well," I cleared my throat. "Rebecca just said some things that upset me."

"What did she say?"

"I don't really want to talk about it Skye," I said, playing with my thumbs. I was starting to pick up her bad habits.

"Well, if you don't talk about it then you'll want to hurt yourself again. And I know Cheyenne is the most important thing in the world to you. And _she_ wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, would she?"

Skylar had really started to piss me off. She didn't even go to college. She went to school to become a massage therapist, not a psychiatrist. And the worst part is that she knew what she was talking about. Whenever something was wrong, a nice heart to heart with Skye always made it better.

"No, I guess she wouldn't." I looked at Skye who was still expecting an answer. "Rebecca told me, that as long as we were together, I'd never see Chey again."

I'd only ever seen Skye's face twist into that chilling, morbid look of evil once, and that was when she was mad at Hunter for getting rid of Xander (we were all sick of the fucking spatula, okay?). After he did it, she lost her mind. She jumped on him, pinned him to the ground and slapped him. With her fingernails. He still had three deep gashes in his face where her nails had clawed into him.

"But that's _your_ daughter too, right?" I nodded, too frightened to say anything. "So that fucking anorexic, piece of trash, fugly ass, skanky, wanna-be diva, trying to take Eric from me...bitch, is telling you that you can't see _your_ daughter, because of...me?"

"Trying to take Eric from you? When did she try to take Eric from you?"

"Huh. Ain't that some shit?" She reached into my glove compartment, taking out one of my cigarettes and lighter. "Don't worry Shawn, she's gonna let you see Cheyenne."

"How do you know?"

"BECAUSE I FUCKING SAID SO!" she yelled at the windshield, blowing out a puff of smoke. She turned to me and smiled a satanically evil smile. "Don't you worry about it."


	14. Chapter 14

Skylar's house was immense. It was an old, Victorian era house that had to have been at least three stories high. The front was beautifully landscaped, with white and pink flowers laced around short, bright green bushes that lined the front of the house. There was a garden near the back, surrounded by a black, wrought iron fence and shielded from view by tall creeping vines. Skylar smiled, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I missed home," she said, glancing up at me. I nodded, understanding.

We made our way up the driveway and I noticed the cars. There were a _lot_ of cars. I mean a _lot_ of cars. I did a quick count and tallied up at least ten. There were Fords, Mustangs, Toyotas, a Mercedes, and even a Porsche. They looked kind of familiar....

"Skye, why are all the superstars here?" I asked as we made our way up the pathway to the front door.

"Well," she said, stopping in front of the door. "Um... the guys _really_ like my mom."

"Like her as a mom, or..."

"A little of both," she said shuffling her feet. "Come on, you gotta meet her." She rang the doorbell three times and banged on the door until Ted DiBiase Sr. came to the door. He didn't look much different, except for the fact that his solid black beard was peppered with white now.

"Daddy!" Skye screamed, jumping into his arms. He lifted her up and kissed her forehead, smiling the whole time.

"Oh I missed you Princess," he said, ruffling her hair up. She stepped back and grabbed my hand.

"Daddy, you remember Shawnie, right?"

"How could I forget?" he said, eyeing me. Damn. Looks like I'm in for another Mark/Andy/Bret episode. "Nice to see you again, Shawn."

"You too, Ted," I said, shaking his hand. We went inside and I followed Skylar to the kitchen. There was an abundance of people in there, creating chaos everywhere. Joelle stood in the middle of the disorder, smiling and mixing a pot of what I can only assume is Jambalaya. She didn't look any different than I'd remembered. Her chocolaty skin shone as bright as her sparkling eyes. Her hair was long and soft, bleached brown by the intense Florida sunlight. She looked over at us and a smile spread across her soft features.

"Skylar, sweetie!" she said, putting down her spoon. She made her way over to us and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Seeing them together really brought out the family resemblance. Joelle was just a taller version of her eldest daughters. She let Skye go and turned to me.

"Shawn," she said, hugging me too. I wrapped my arms around her. This was familiar. I remember this from when Sunny and I were having problems back in the day. Joelle was like a sister to me back then, only because she wouldn't fuck me. She was already with Ted.

"It's been so long," she said, stepping away from me. "Damn I've missed you."

"I missed you to Liz," I said, referring to her middle name. Everything was coming back. I was remembering so much...

"Bizzy," I said, turning to Skye. She grinned wildly.

"You remember?" I nodded. "Mom, he hasn't remembered anything in so long and now he remembers!"

"Bizzy?" Hunter asked, coming up next to us. I nodded.

"She was always getting into things when she was younger," I said, nodding towards Skye. "So her parents call her Bizzy."

"Oh," Hunter said. He was staring at Joelle, his trademark smirk making its way onto his face. "So, Joelle," he said, looking her up and down. "How's the marriage going?"

"We still haven't gotten a divorce, Hunter," she said, rolling her eyes. She still hadn't lost her trademark Caribbean accent. "And we won't anytime soon."

"That's okay. Ted doesn't have to know," he said, raising his eyebrows. Skye rolled her eyes.

"This is every time we come home," she said. A sigh escaped her lips. "Let me introduce you to everyone. You know my mom, dad, Teddy Bear, Codes, Sparkles," she said, gesturing to Chris Jericho. "Orton and Edge, Andy and Candice. This is my little brother, Brett," she said, pointing to a kid who couldn't have been older than eighteen. I nodded and waved. He returned the favor. "And this is my baby sister Marley!"

A little girl, no older than ten sat at the breakfast bar, reading _Great Expectations_ by Charles Dickinson. She had curly black hair and beige skin, the lightest of all the females in her family. She glanced up at us and I noticed her glassy hazel eyes, lighter than Skye and Joelle's, but not by much.

"Hi," I said, smiling down at her. She gave me a quick smile back, looked at Skye, shook her head, and turned back to her book.

"I've missed you so much little Mars," Skye said, wrapping her arms around her younger sister. Marley looked up from her book and Skylar tightened her vice grip on her.

"Go away. Now," she said, her eyes narrowing at her older sister. Skylar didn't let up. She kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair, sending the curls everywhere. Marley glared at her. "Why couldn't you get a hotel room?"

"Oh Mars," Skye said, smiling warmly at her. She turned back to me. "She thinks she hates me," she said, laughing as if it were the silliest thing she'd ever heard. I looked over at Marley and saw the trademark evil glare in her eye. Yeah, she takes after Andy.

"Come on," she said, grabbing my arm. "I wanna show you my room." She grabbed Marley again, this time telling her to stay out of her room ("And I mean it. Stay out of there!")before dragging me upstairs.

Why Skylar chose to stay in the attic was beyond me, until I saw what she'd done with it. The walls had been painted a light pink, except for one wall which was solid brick. It wasn't decorated in any particular theme, but there was a lot of French themed stuff in the room. Her furniture was mostly light wood antique, and there was a lot of rustic metal accents. But the thing that really got my attention were the bookshelves. There was one wall, completely empty aside from the large bay window. On either side of it were floor to ceiling bookshelves, both filled to capacity. The books were used, too, not just put there for decoration. I ran my hand along the spines and felt the weathering of years of use. There were also little trinket boxes full of jewelry, sunglasses, ribbons, everything, along with picture frames and Mardi Gras masks. But there were so many books.

"Um, honey?"

"Yeah?" she said, looking around for something.

"Have you read all of these?"

"Well, most of them. I'm still working on reading them all, but I keep getting more books and getting side tracked and MAX!" she yelled. "MAXXIE! Where are you hon?"

A little husky puppy clawed his way from under a pile of clothes and hobbled its way over to us. Skye picked him up and tossed him in the air, catching him and hugged him close to her.

"Hi sweetie!" she said, cuddling the little puppy. "I missed you! Shawnie, this is Max, my little baby."

The dog looked up at me and barked, its tongue hanging out of its mouth. I reached forward cautiously, huskies had been known to be overprotective and independent, but he licked my hand and allowed me to pet him.

While Skye played with her puppy, I scanned her bookshelves and noticed some of the titles. She had a number of Jane Austen novels, classics such as _Treasure Island, The Oddesy, East of Eden, Moby-Dick, The Hound of the Baskerville_, a crap ton of Stephen King, the Twilight books everyone is so crazy about, and a lot of books I'd never heard of such as _Speak _and _13 Reasons Why_.

"So that's how you knew Marley was in here?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up from Max's exposed tummy.

"She was reading one of your books."

"Oh, yeah," she said, standing and bouncing over to me. "She always takes my books. Back when I was into witchcraft and all that stuff she'd read those too."

"How long ago was that?"

"Eh, about three years," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, Mars was seven?"

"Yep."

"And she understood what she was reading."

"Yep," Skye said, nodding furiously. "She's an evil kid Shawn. Maybe eviler than... Andy."

"No," I said, mock shock in my voice.

"Yeah!" she said, her eyes widening. "And you know Andy is right up there with that damn gnome!"

"I know sweetie," I said throwing an arm around her. "I know."

xxxxxxx

I was sitting on a bar stool in the living room, messing around on Skylar's computer. Skye was sitting on the couch watching Anderson Cooper. I told her I didn't know she was a democrat and she told me she wasn't.

"I'm not a part of a political party. I'm not a big politics person. I just like looking at Anderson Cooper."

Figures. I'd also had a talk with Ted earlier that day. He took me into him and Joelle's room, sat me down and had a little heart to heart.

"Now, from what I hear you've changed a lot since back in the day," he started.

"Yes sir," I said, trying my best to be respectful. Ted and I hadn't been on the best of terms back then. I had a thing for Joelle (I wanted to fuck her) and they, of course, were married. He didn't take too well to that.

"So, no more drugs?"

"None whatsoever."

"And you've gotten your head on straight? Because you know, Skylar is my little angel. I love Marley and Andy just as much, but Skylar is my baby girl. We have to look after her."

"I completely understand," I said, laughing to myself. Marley is ten, but Skylar's the baby. "Ted, I know I was out of control back then, and completely out of line. But I've changed now. I found God, I'm living straight, and I love Skylar more than anything in the world, other than my kids. I would never do anything to compromise my relationship with her or you."

"I believe you Shawn," he said. I think he saw the shock on my face because he let out his trademark laugh. "I know you haven't had the best luck with the rest of her family."

Damn right. Luckily Andy had stayed at a hotel with Candice. She hadn't _come out_ to her family yet.

"Well Shawn," he said standing. "It seems that you and Skylar really do love each other."

I stood. "We do Ted. So much."

"I haven't seen my little girl that happy in years. It's refreshing." Really? Skylar is happy ninety-nine percent of the time. "And with that, I give you my blessing."

"Thanks Ted," I said, smiling up at him. We shook hands again and I'd gone downstairs to find Hunter and Skye, who forced me to go to the beach.

"Oh Anderson," Skye said from the couch. "Your eyes are so blue." She took another bite of ice cream and sighed.

"Why do you like my sister?" a small voice whispered from below me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's a moron, first of all," Marley said, her brown curls flailing as she climbed into the stool next to me. "And she's... well no. She's just a moron."

"She not a moron," I said, smiling. "She's just, optimistic."

"An optimistic idiot. What are you doing?" she asked, peering over my shoulder.

"Trying to find a birthday present for you sister."

"Ah," she said. "Tiffany and Co. Very expensive. You really do love her?" I nodded.

"More than anything," I said, scrolling through the pages.

"Well, just so you know," Marley said, pointing her finger at a necklace. It was a simple silver anchor charm on a matching chain. "She'll love that."

I looked at Marley with some disdain. I hadn't believe Skylar when she told me Marley was, as she put it, the spawn of Lucifer himself, but over the course of the day, that became more and more apparent. Not only did she go out of her way to yell at Skye every chance she got, but she also tormented Hunter and Chris.

Chris had been napping after driving here from Tampa, and he was napping well. He was so deep in his sleep that the music Orton and Edge were blasting downstairs didn't even wake him. Marley crept in, scissors in tow, an proceeded to chop off a good portion of his hair, but only in the back where he was sure not to notice. Well, at least until he was a good fifty miles away.

Hunter would be sitting there, calmly reading the newspaper. He'd set it down and Marley would be right there, staring at him. He'd tell her to go away, and she would, for about twenty seconds. She came back when he started choking and gagging.

"So, I'm guessing he's allergic to Canadians," she said, taking the brown stained blonde clumps out of his coffee. She mused to herself, rubbing her chin like a true villainess, and then walked back upstairs to her laboratory (bedroom) to quote "do more research".

I chuckled to myself as I recalled the day's events. Skye's family was defiantly out of the ordinary, but they were all so loving. Even Marley had shown her soft side when she, Ted, Brett, and Skye sat down with their parents to watch Girlfriends (the guys swore that they were forced). They called Andy on the phone and put her on speaker so the whole family could talk. They cared about each other. Like a family ought to. Like Rebecca and I never did.

I looked back at the Tiffany and Co. website, staring at the section to the left of the jewelry. My mind reeled at weather this was the right decision, if it was too soon, or if she'd even want it. Then I followed her advice. "Do what you want and worry about the consequences when you're old." That's exactly what I was going to do.


	15. Chapter 15

For the first time in months, I woke up alone.

Skylar wasn't staring over me, and Chey, since we had picked her up, wasn't sleeping peacefully next to me. We'd done a huge show in Madison Square Garden the night before, and they both should be exhausted. I looked over at the clock next to me and noticed that it was nine o'clock in the morning.

I stood to go to the bathroom and saw a note taped to the mirror:

_Dear Shawnie,_

_Me and Cheyenne went shopping. We borrowed your credit card. She said you wouldn't mind, and since she's you're daughter, I'm sure she's right. We also borrowed your pants. Don't ask. It's just in case of an emergency._

_Love always,_

_Skylar Anne_

_PS: We also borrowed Hunter. If he says we kidnapped him, he's lying._

_PSS: We also took Jeff._

Oh dear Jesus. He only knows what they could be up to. I quickly found my phone and dialed Skylar's cell phone. Her, plus my daughter, plus Jeff Hardy, plus New York City, equaled trouble. The phone rang and I heard Creep by Radiohead blasting from the bed stand. _She left her phone._

I racked my brain for a way to figure out where they were. Mark? No, she wouldn't tell him. Andy? Like I'm taking that chance. Phil.

I rushed down the hall and banged on his door. He answered a second later, looking like he'd just waken up. Of course that's how he always looks.

"They didn't tell me either," he said, shaking his head. "But they're already back." He pointed down the hallway to the elevator. "Just stand there and wait. You can't miss them."

I took Phil's advice and stood by the elevator, wondering what could possibly be going on. The doors chimed open and I heard. Jeff, Skylar, and Chey were sitting on the ground, serenading people as they walked in and out the elevator. Jeff had a guitar and Chey was sitting in Skye's lap, clapping her hands and grinning.

"I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend!" they sang as three disgruntled men in business suits walked off. I shook my head and smiled.

"Alright, get up you three. Stop bothering people."

They quickly scrambled to their feet and hopped off the elevator. Skye and Cheyenne looked at me while Jeff started packing his guitar up.

"Nice working with you Bessie, Ella," he said, nodding his old school fedora towards Chey and Skye respectively.

"You too Duke," Skye said, curtsying.

"Slide me some skin, home skillet," Chey said, reaching her hands up to Jeff. They slid them together and pulled them apart, making a "pshh," noise. "See ya later home dog."

Jeff tipped his hat to them again and walked off.

"Daddy! We're rock stars!" Cheyenne said, motioning for me to pick her up.

"Yeah! People friggin' love us!" Skye said enthusiastically. I could argue that.

"That's nice to kn-" I started, before being interrupted by Skye's alarm.

"Oh poo," she said in a horrible British accent. "Cheyenne, we're late for tea!"

"Oh dear!" Chey said, jumping down from my arms. "Is it that late already?"

"What are you two talking about?" I asked, rubbing my hands across my face.

"Skylar's gonna teach me how to be a lady!" Chey said in her normal, country voice.

'_Where the hell did she learn?'_ I thought to myself. I smiled anyway. "And when can I expect you lovely ladies to be back?"

"Oh, around noon-ish. We're going to stop for a quick brunch and then head out for a little window shopping," Skye said, still not dropping the act. "But first we must change out of these ratty clothes." Both of my girls were wearing plaid t-shirts (Skye's was unbuttoned with a tank underneath), blue jeans, and cowboy boots.

"Alright, you two have fun," I said, waving them off towards the room. "Oh, wait! Where did you leave Hunter?"

"He's down stairs stuffing his nose with food!" Skye yelled. "Haha! Because he has a big nose!" she laughed before closing the door.

I shook my head and went downstairs, finding Hunter at a table in the hotel restaurant, bagels and orange juice sitting in front of him.

"Come on," I said, urging him.

"Why?" he asked, an angry look on his face. "I've been stuck with your daughter and dumb ass girlfriend for the past two and a half hours! Can't I have fifteen minutes to myself?"

"No," I said, pulling on his arm. "This is important." I led him out of the hotel and hailed a taxi. The driver drove us down to Fifth Ave. and let us out. I paid and walked towards the towering building. The inside of the store looked... sterile, in a way. Everything was so neat and pristine. Far from what my country ass is used to.

"Shawn, are you just now picking up Skye's birthday present?" Hunter asked, scolding down at me. "Her birthday is tomorrow!"

"I know. But it's just now finished!" I walked over to the counter and rang the bell anxiously. When no one came out, I pressed it again and again until Hunter grabbed my arm.

"Calm down, will ya?" He shot me a strange look. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," I said, feeling my bad eye twitch.

"Uh-huh."

"May I help you men?" a lady said, coming from behind a big scary looking door. She had on a business suit, and from the looks of it, had a lot of work done. She was probably in her mid forties, but her Botox and obvious lip injections made her look much older.

"Uh, yeah. I ordered some jewelry from here about a month ago."

"Okay, and what name will that be under?"

"Shawn Michaels."

She looked up my order and a surprised look came over her face. She glanced up at me with a charming smile. "I'll be right back. We don't keep these out in the open."

"What did you get her?" Hunter asked, checking his nails.

"I got her a... are those French tips?"

"Yeah," he said, flinging them out to admire them. "Chey Kat's idea. She thought they'd compliment my hair. What do you think?"

"You... I think... who is Chey Kat?" I asked, completely befuddled.

"Chey Kat... Cheyenne?" he said, flipping his hair. "Now, nails... what do you think?"

"I think they're the gayest thing you've ever done."

"Okay, Mr. Michaels," the clerk said, coming back. She held a light blue velour box between her palms, placing it gently on the counter. She opened it up and Hunter gasped.

"You got her a promise ring?" he said, putting his hands on his head.

"It's an engagement ring you idiot!" I said, pushing him slightly. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"Dude, I know she'll like it."

"How?" I asked. I took it from its box and examined it. There were two triangle cut gems on either side of it, set on a solid platinum band with a square cut diamond placed right in the middle.

"It sparkles in the sunlight. What more will _she_ ask for?"

"Eh. You're right." I turned to the clerk, placing the ring back in the box. "How much?"

"Your grand total comes down to... $44,300," she said, entering some numbers into a computer. I handed her my Visa and took the box.

XOXOXOXO

"Happy Birthday dear Skylar and Andrea," we sang, seated around a large, four tier cake. It had alternating patters, one for each twin. Skye's tiers were light green and blue, with edible white daisies pasted on them. Andy's were red and black with casino cards pasted around them. The top was a mix of the two... very creative. "Happy birthday to you... two!"

They blew out the candles and stood back, Cody and Ted administering their shots. The knocked them back and smiled, Skye scrunching her face to the taste of the alcohol.

"How does it feel to be twenty one?" Everyone kept asking, pouring Andy more drinks. Skye had a beer and walked over to me.

"You happy?" I asked as she planted herself across my lap. She leaned forward and kissed my lips. "As happy as I'll ever be."

"I'm glad." They party kept going, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Orton and Edge kept shooting glances at Skye, so I put an arm around her, protectively.

"Come on Skye," Andy said, snatching her from my arms. "Time to open presents."

"Yeah!" Skye said, running after her look alike. They tore apart the wrappers, admiring their gifts and thanking everyone for them. Andy got a lot of sexy outfits and toys (gag gifts from the girls), money, and a necklace from Candice. Skye got books (lots and lots and lots of books), a new bag, and a snake. A fucking python. ("We should name him Houdini Shawn! 'Cause he looks like he'll get out of his tank a lot!"). Note to self, destroy the Hardys.

"Is that everything?" Andy asked, packing her presents into bags.

"Almost," I said. I looked at Skye and she smiled, her charming, innocent smile. "Sweetie, I love you so much," I said, never leaving her eyes.

"Aw, I love you too Shawn!" she said, leaning forward to stand. I sat her back down.

"Skye, I wouldn't be able to live the rest of my life without you," I said bending down to one knee. The girls gasped, and I could _feel_ Mark's eyes burning into my back.

"Honey, why are you on the ground?" Skye asked, pure confusion laced in her soft hazel eyes. I smiled to myself.

"Skylar," I asked, pulling the box from my hand. Maryse gasped. ("A blue box!" she whispered to Maria.) "Will you marry me?"

She still had the same look on her face. Realization hit her, and tears welled in her eyes. "D-do you mean it?" I nodded, holding back tears of my own. "Yes! Yes Shawn, yes!" She jumped from her seat, wrapping her arms around my neck. I sat her on my knee and slid the ring onto her finger. She hugged me again and I inhaled her scent.

We stood, making our way back down to her room. Mark stopped me and pulled me around.

"Michaels, you hurt her, and I will destroy you."

"Mark, I can honestly tell you," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You will never have to worry about that.

**A/N: Aw! So sweet! Let's just hope it stays that way. (It won't)**


	16. Chapter 16

"So when are you gonna be my new mommy Skylar?" Chey said, bouncing up and down in the seat next to me.

"I'm still planning the date," Skye said, iPhone in tow. It had basically been glued to her since I'd proposed three weeks ago. I wasn't complaining too much. At least one of us was getting work done.

I'd been spending most of my time hanging with Hunter. When Skye asked what we were doing, Hunter told her we were doing "man things" for the wedding.

"That's great!" she said enthusiastically. "You need to have some say in it." She proceeded to read me out a list of things I should get done for the wedding. Apparently, I needed to pick out my wedding ring, choose the playlist, find catering, pick out my groomsmen, book the honeymoon, and hand over my credit card.

Well, whenever I made a suggestion, there was a problem.

"You really want to have Steve in the wedding?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, why not? He's one of my best friends."

"But he's an alcoholic."

"I'll watch him," I said, waving off her fears. Then, I went to find catering with Hunter. It was hard, seeing as she wanted to get married in six months, but I did it. They even came with an open bar. Well, that was a problem too.

"What if your friends drink," she said, glancing up at me with disbelief on her face.

"They probably will," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"They're going to ruin my wedding!"

"I'll watch them," I promised again.

So, finally, Hunter, Steve and I decided on the music. Steve and I threw in the best country songs we could think of, and let Hunter worry about the rest of it, for the younger people. This, of course, was also a problem.

"You're letting Hunter DJ my wedding?" she asked, her eyes growing wide in shock.

"Yes, sweetie," I said, taking a step back. She was starting to turn pink in fury.

"He's a pervert!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"He'll play disgusting music, Shawn," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm not letting him."

"Skye, he's one of my best friends," I said, frowning back at her. "If he wants to do it, let him."

Skye was still getting used to me not giving her everything she wanted. I'd spoiled her since the beginning, but I'd learned to put my foot down sometimes. She pouted and whined, but I didn't let up. She even cried to get her way. She knows how much I hate that, but I wasn't gonna let her use that against me again.

"Shawnie no! Please!" she screamed, stamping her feet. Superstars kept opening and closing our door, making sure I wasn't hurting her. When they saw it was just another one of her temper tantrums, the left, shaking their heads.

"Skylar, you can throw any kind of fit you want. Hunter is my best friend, and there is no way he isn't going to be in my wedding. He didn't get to be in the last one, so he's going to be in this one."

She gave me an Andy stare, her hazel toned eyes bearing down on me. Eventually, she let up, folding her arms and pouting. "Fine."

"So, what are you complaining about now?" Hunter asked as he walked in the door, opening up a bag of Lays.

She turned so quick I didn't even notice at first. She marched up too him, stuck her finger out, and stood on her toes for emphasis. "Look Helmsley," she said, her normally soft voice a growl. "This is my first wedding. I know Shawn doesn't give a damn because he's been married before, even if it was just some dive-thru in Vegas. If you and your big nose even _think_ about ruining my wedding, I'll cut your dick off and shove it up your ass. You got that? YOUR ASS!" She stomped out the room, slamming the door.

"Well, you finally learned to stand up to her," he said, taking a chip out of the bag. Skye stormed back in and grabbed the bag of chips.

"I want them," she said, walking back out the door. Hunter turned to me, but I shrugged.

"I can't say no to her twice in one day," I said, shaking my head.

Other than that, things were great. Skye was as bubbly as usual, and Chey was hysterical. She loved being out 'wedding coordinator' and yelling at Hunter (which all girls love, of course). Even I could feel the euphoria. Whenever I looked at Skye now, I felt something so much _different_ than usual. Every time I saw her, it was like getting hit in the head with a bag of rocks as I realized _'This woman is gonna be my wife!'_ The wedding had the whole WWE Universe buzzing.

Which is probably why I was so shocked at this.

"Shawnie," Skye said, a slight frown on her soft face. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah sweetie," I said, putting down the book I was reading. "What's wrong?"

She sat next to me, twiddling a thermometer in her lap. She looked up at me, opened her mouth to speak, and looked back down, shaking her head. She sighed, and looked at me again.

"You don't want to get married." This wasn't a question, it was a statement. Her eyes widened and she shook her head violently.

"No! I wanna get married sooner!"

I let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. I looked up at her and saw she was grinning. "What is it? Why do you wanna move it up?"

"Because," she said, tightening her grip on the thermometer. The old bulgy thermometer that wasn't a thermometer at all.

"Skye," I said, grabbing the object from her. I held it up to my face and saw two little pink lines peering back at me. I dropped it when I stood, throwing my hands to my head. "Skye!"

She was laughing now. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the couch. "So, are you happy?" she asked, tears brimming in her eyes. I kissed her hard and passionately, my hands stringing through her hair.

"Yes I'm happy!"

"Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" Jeff said, popping his head through the doorframe.

"Yeah," Hunter said, his head hanging over Jeff's. "Are you two doing it?"

"Skye's having my baby!" I said, turning excitedly. Jeff and Hunter's eyes went wide.

"For seriously?" Jeff asked, rushing over to us. He pushed me out of the way and thrusting his hands onto her belly. "You have a baby in you?"

Skye nodded and Hunter let out a girly scream. "I'm going to be an uncle!" he yelled, jumping up and down. "Again!"

"And I'm going to be a brother!" Jeff said. They grabbed hands and jumped around in a circle. "Yay!"

"Yeah, you two go spread the news," Skye said, ushering them out. I closed the doors behind them and kissed my bride to be again.

"I love you so much," I said, staring down at her. I was so lost in thought I didn't even notice that she had started to cry. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"They raped me," she said. "That's why I'm afraid of them."

"Edge and Orton?" I asked, anger starting to boil through me. "When?"

"They didn't stop until they found out I was with you," she said, wiping tears from her face. I glanced down at her stomach and she shook her head. "No, not that recently."

"Will you tell me the whole story?" I asked, sitting her down. She nodded.

"Randy and I dated for awhile. We loved each other. Well, I loved him, at least. Um, he wanted more than I was ready to give, and he didn't really ask." She had stopped crying. "Him and Adam are such _great_ friends, you know? They share everything. At least, that's what Randy told me. And, he wanted to fuck me. So Randy told him he could."

"I didn't want to. Sex meant something to me back then. He told me it didn't matter what I wanted. So, he took me to Adam and you know what pisses me off?" I shook my head no. "Everyone thinks Randy is the worst man ever when it comes to dating and relationships or you know... life, but he's not. Adam Copeland is horrible. He is. I... hell was designed just for him. It was." She rubbed a hand across her face.

"Randy took me too him and left. He said 'Don't hurt her Adam. I mean it.' But how could he not hurt me if he was going to rape me? So, he kept trying to get in me, and I kept denying him. He was slapping me and punching me, but I didn't give in. I don't give up that easily. He finally climbed off me and went in another room. I tried to leave but before I could get to the door, I heard him yell. I turned around and he pushed me against a wall. He held a knife to my throat and," she pulled her hair off her neck and showed me a faint white scar. "He told me if I moved, he'd slice me in two. So I didn't. And he raped me for months."

She wasn't crying anymore. She had her hands wrapped around mine, keeping me for losing it. A smile played on her lips as she stroked my arm, her soft hands brushing across the weathered scars there. "And then you saved me."

"Baby, I'm going to kill them," I said. She shook her head and kissed me softly.

"Don't."

"But they fucked you up!" I said. She frowned, but I shook my head. "No, that's not what I mean. It's just... you said sex _used_ to mean something to you?"

"Yeah," she said, shrugging.

"So, it doesn't anymore?"

She thought for a minute. Then shook her head. "No. I just do it to make you happy. Otherwise I never would have jumped in the bed with you that soon."

"See? You shouldn't feel that way."

"Don't worry about it." She kissed me again. "We're going to be fine. You, me, Chey, and mini," she said, patting her stomach.

As I watched her leave, some familiarity came back to me. I was flooded with the feelings of confusion, love, and a protector, none of which were new. She left me feeling that way every time I saw her, kissed her, or held her. But there was a new feeling. The feeling that everything was going to be okay. She left me with Hope.

**A/N: I love Adam Copeland. Sexy man.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: It's going by fast now. The story's almost over. **

"Hey Shawn," I heard, feeling a tap on my shoulder. The voice sounded familiar, but I hadn't heard it in years....

"Sunny?" I asked, shocked at the blonde standing in front of me. "Hey!" We wrapped our arms around each other in a tight embrace. We pulled apart and smiled at each other, happy to finally see each other after years apart. "Damn, it's been so long!"

"Too long," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I've missed you so much."

"You too, especially with all the stress lately."

"Stress?" she asked, cocking her head to the side slightly. Her hair had grown a lot since the nineties, and her crystal blue eyes were as bright as ever. I'd really missed Sunny. She was so bright, in a flirty kind of way. Almost like Skylar. _Almost_.

"Well, you know WrestleMania is coming up." she nodded.

"That's why I'm here!"

I smiled. "Well there's that, and not knowing whether or not I'm going to have a job afterwards, we're getting married the day after, and she's two months pregnant."

"She?" Sunny said, her face falling instantly. "You're _engaged_?"

"Um, yeah," I said. "To Skylar DiBiase."

Her face was so frozen in shock I had to wave my hands in front of her. "Sunny! Sunny!"

"She's like, ten years younger than you!"

"Eight, actually," I said, scrubbing my hand over my face.

"That doesn't change anything! She's too immature to be pregnant and engaged! She should be out partying and having fun."

"Wow. Thanks Sunny."

"You know it's true," she said, rubbing my arm again. "You need someone older. Someone who's gonna be there for you." She leaned forward to kiss me, but I backed away just in time.

"Sunny, seriously, chill the fuck out," I said, frowning at her. "I love Skylar to death, and I'm not going to cheat on her."

"I know," Sunny said, grabbing her head. "I'm sorry. Look, let's just forget about that, okay?" She smiled. "I wish you and Skye the best of luck."

"Thanks," I said, giving her another hug. Before I pulled away I heard my phone buzzing from my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the unrecognized number.

"Hmm," I said to myself, answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Shawn? Shawn, it's an emergency." Andy's frantic voice practically screamed at me from the receiver.

"Where are you?" I asked, waving Sunny goodbye. I got in the truck and revved it up, ready to be wherever Andy needed me, no matter how much we hated each other.

"The hospital," she said. "It's the baby."

My face fell and I froze, almost dropping the phone in the process. I couldn't even comprehend what Andy was saying.

"Shawn? Shawn, are you listening? They don't even know what happened. Skye said she was using the bathroom and saw a lot of blood. We took her to the hospital and they told her she'd had a miscarriage." Andy was bawling now. I couldn't even say anything to calm her down. Everything was a blur and I drove down to the hospital, not even speeding. She had been so excited to be an aunt. We were all excited about the newest member of the WWE Universe.

We'd come down to Texas (since it's so close to Arizona) and started getting ready for the wedding, which was a week away. This Saturday, Skye was going to see her father (not step-father. Ted was so much more than that to her) get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Sunday, her fiancé would be competing in the biggest match of his life. And that Monday, she was to be married to said fiancé.

The family had come down from Connecticut. Ted, Brett, Marley, Ted Sr. Joelle, and the newest member of the family, Madeline DiBiase, were all excited to see little Skylar get married after Ted was inducted. It was stressful with so many demands, but everyone was happy. Up until now.

I rushed to her side as soon as I got to the hospital. She was in hysterics and the hospital staff was filing to calm her. She grabbed my hand, yelling about how sorry she was and how she didn't know this would happen.

"The baby's dead?" I asked, my face hard as stone. She nodded and I looked at one of the nurses. "What happened?"

"We're not sure. It's hard to pin a direct cause during the first trimester, but the most common cause is stress," said the nurse. I look down at Skylar who was holding my hand to her face as she sobbed. I yanked my hand from her and went back to the car. I was beyond pissed. I can and will forgive a lot of things, but messing with my kids isn't one of them. I pulled the Swiss Army Knife out of the glove compartment and slashed it across my wrist.

If she could fuck me over, I'd help her finish the job.

**Sorry. Skye's eggo is no longer preggo. =(**


	18. Chapter 18

I woke up and felt her sleeping on my chest. Last night we'd had the best sex I'd had in a long time. All the other times I'd been afraid of hurting the baby (crazy I know, but I've always had that fear), but obviously that wouldn't be a problem now.

Her soft blonde hair cascaded over my chest as she breathed softly. I stroked my hand down her face, causing her to stir.

'

"Hey," she said, glancing up at me with her killer eyes. Her makeup had smudged from the day before, but it just gave her an even sexier look.

"Hey," I said, kissing her forehead. Sunny sat straight up and climbed out of the bed, her ass teasing me as she sauntered around the room, picking up her clothes.

"I'm gonna take a shower, 'kay?" she said, blowing a kiss at me before she closed the bathroom door. I leaned over and pulled out a cigarette, savoring the nicotine I'd been deprived of for the last two months. I was trying to give up smoking again for the baby and Skylar.

Skylar.

I had been so mad about her loosing the baby that I hadn't even stopped to think. I just cheated on her, with Sunny, the biggest slut in the company. She'd kill me if she found out. But I had to tell her. It'd hurt her even more if I kept it from her. The thoughts kept racing through my head, so loud that I didn't hear the door open.

"Shawn?" Skye's melodic voice came from the doorway. I snapped my head towards her, cigarette falling out of my mouth.

"Shawn, I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what happened. I was taking a shower and my stomach starting cramping and I saw all that blood. I was scared. I didn't want to lose the baby! I promise! I wasn't trying to or anything!"

"I know that."

"Then why are you so mad at me?" she said, her brown eyes casting down in shame.

"Shawn? Did I leave my bra in there?" Sunny called from the bathroom. My eyes grew wide as she stepped out topless, still soaking wet. "I can't find it."

"What is she doing here?" Skye yelled, her innocent face shadowed in disbelief.

"Skye, look, I can-"

"Explain?" Sunny said, smiling smugly. "There isn't anything to explain, Shawn. Look sweetie," she said, turning to Skylar. "Shawn wants a real woman, okay? Not a little girl. Since you don't have his baby anymore, he's finished with you. So, you can go find your friends and play in the playground or whatever it is you do, because he's ready to upgrade."

My heart fell when I saw tears brimming her eyes. She never took them off me. The room was dead silent for the longest, until Skylar finally spoke up.

"Why am I not good enough?" The tears spilled. I didn't know what to say. I just stared at her, thinking of what to say to make it better. But the simple truth is, I couldn't.

"You don't love me?" she asks. I'm still speechless. "So, the weddings off, right?"

When I didn't reply to the third question, she turned and left, sobbing as she went. Sunny smiled and walked over to me. "Well, now that she's gone, why don't we have some more fun?"

I pushed her off me and grabbed my pants. I quickly ran out the room to find Skye, leaving Sunny dumfounded on the bed.

**A/N: One Chapter left!**


	19. Chapter 19

_One Year Later..._

Last year, I learned more about myself than I'd ever known. I also learned more about life than I ever could have hoped. Skylar DiBiase taught me both of those things.

She came into my life when I was on the verge to end it. Deep down, I think that's what God had planned. She showed me true love, happiness, and most importantly, the value of my life, not only to me, but to the ones around me.

We were engaged to be married, and I cheated on her. I knew she didn't try to kill our baby. Miscarriages happen every day. It wasn't her fault, or my fault. Our baby is in a better place.

After I cheated, Skye went to TNA. I haven't spoken to her since. She didn't forgive me for hurting her the way I did, and truth be told, I didn't forgive myself. Mark kicked my ass at WrestleMania two nights later, and I was forced to retire. Again.

I went back to San Antonio and fell back into my old habits of drinking and cutting. It got so bad that Steve had me committed to a psyche ward for four months. When I was released I went to Rebecca's house to visit Cam and Chey. Rebecca was amazingly understanding. She told me that she had no idea what kind of stuff I had been doing to myself since the breakup.

We started talking more and more, and the strangest thing happened. It was like we were dating again. We set our differences aside, and we're working on getting back together for the kids. And my sanity.

None of this wouldn't happen if it weren't for Skye. Even though I didn't get to keep her, in the end, she was the best experience of my life. And I hope that wherever she is and whatever she's doing, she's still smiling and knows how great she truly is.


End file.
